Keeping Promises
by Togiretogire Tenshi
Summary: Not too long after the fire, things seem to be better for Sunao and Sora.  However, lately, something from Sunao's past is haunting him.  Why is this happening now?  Full summary inside.
1. Encounter

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Sukisyo nor any of the characters in the following story …except for the very few that will be mentioning in this chapter and the ones yet to come, but you will find out about that later. : P**

**Summary: It takes place after Episode 12. Sunao and Sora can live the way they always wanted; they're free from Aizawa's grasp. Sunao and Ran; Sora and Yoru now merged as one person. Now Sunao remembers everything while Ran was taking over his body...now he remembers something that is now haunting him. Blood was shed on Sunao's hands and it was because of him. No matter what, he says that face, especially in Mira Tanaka, a new transfer student from the United States. What connection do they have? Read and find out.**

**Chapter 1**

**Encounter**

Sora Hashiba turned over in his bed, now lying on his side, facing the rest of his dorm. His eyes opened slightly, just wide enough to see his alarm clock glowing in bright green lights '8:30 A.M.' He smiled to himself and turned back to his original position, flipped over on his stomach with his head turned to which it was facing the wall. He loves Sundays. No school. None of Matsuri's work. It's just him, the bed…and of course his Toshizou.

"Hashiba," someone called out his name from the other side of the door, knocking on it repeatedly, "open up!"

Sora sighed. All he wanted to do is sleep, but it seems that that is too much to ask for on his only day off. He planted his face in his pillow as he groaned as loud as he could, "The door is open."

"Baka," the person said, "I can't open the door! My hands are full of boxes. You know? The ones you said you would help me with!"

Sora's eyes popped open. He quickly rushed to the door. When he opened the door, he found his lover, Sunao Fujimori, waiting on the other side, with boxes stacked on top of one another in his arms. Sora immediately took two of those boxes from the pinkette and placed him on the sheet less bed on the other side of the dorm. Sunao made his way inside and place the box he had next to the others. When Sora looked up to properly greet his pink-eyed lover, he could quickly tell that he was not happy…and knew exactly why.

Sunao was glaring at him with vicious eyes. '_How could someone with such pretty eyes scare me like that_,' he thought to himself. He considered getting on his knees and begging Sunao for mercy.

"Sleep well, Hashiba," he growled, forming a grin on face. Not a friendly grin, though. He smiled a grin that basically said, _'I am going to kill you.'_

"Uh…y-yeah. Thank you for ask-asking."

_Wham._

Sunao had whacked his blue-eyed _idiotic-of-a _lover across the face, sending Sora flying, and fortunately landing on the soft mattress. It was then Sunao began to truly express his feelings to Sora. "You promised me you'd help me move back in here this morning. You told me seven sharp! So I woke up at _**SIX **_to get a head start in packing. And then I waited…and waited…AND WAITED for you to show up." He sighed, crossing his arms, and turning his back to Sora. "I should've known you'd go and forget all about me."

"Gomen," Sora said. There was nothing more he say. Maybe changing the subject could do the trick. "Where's Gaku? Didn't he say he was going to help?"

"Nagase surprised him with a date. They won't be back until tonight," he explained as they both unloaded everything. "It actually might be easier. We can clear out all my things in his room, and that would just leave his things there. Maybe it would help him move out into Nagase's room better"

"Has he even packed?"

"I was going to loan him the boxes I'm using right now when I was done."

"Oh." Almost everything was unpacked and placed. His side of the room didn't look so vacant, anymore. The bed had sheets, a closet was filled up, pictures were hung-it wasn't just wasted space anymore.

Sora moved the boxes next to the door as Sunao made himself comfortable on the bed he originally slept in. He just laid there, on his back, with his long rosy-pink hair made it's way over the edge and barely touching the ground. He had one arm resting across his abdomen as the other just rested to his side. For the first time in a long time, Sunao felt at home, where he should belong; sharing a room with the one he cared about the most.

Ever since he moved out of Sora's dorm, it felt so weird to him as he would wake up in a different room, seeing a face that was not his lover's. It was like the first days he was forced to live without him in the lab. However, they never have to go back to that…he hopes. In a way, he wonders if Sora hates him for what he did.

His mind left those thoughts when he felt Sora's lips on his forehead. He jolted out of the shock that he was so close to him. Sora now sat at the edge of Sunao's bed, his hand brushed over Sunao's face, gently moving his bangs away from his face. He stared into his eyes with a peaceful look on his face. Sunao tilted his head slightly looking back at his blue-eyed koi with a confused expression on his face. "Hashiba? What is it?"

He smiled. "Everything feels right…finally," he said in a calm tone, "I feel at ease. With Aizawa out of our lives forever, finally free from everything he has caused-and with my memory back, all of these feeling that I feel right now makes since. I feel like that we can now put the past where it belongs…and that's in the past, far behind us. But more importantly…" he reached over and took a hold of Sunao's hand. They both stared into each other's eyes in depth. Sunao felt as if Sora was allowing him to gaze into his very soul through his eyes, revealing this peaceful and joyous aura that he speaks of, now feeling it sink into his own heart.

"But more importantly, I have you by my side again. So now…_now_ that our troubles are gone and that you're here to stay, I feel that there's no more worry. We can love each other and there isn't anyone to say otherwise." Sora used his free hand to caress the other's cheek, admiring the feeling of his soft skin, making the other shiver at his touch as his cheek's color matched the pink of his hair and eyes. Sora leaned over until his lips were barely touching the other's ear. "Nothing can stop me from loving you."

Sunao felt his heart free to reveal his inner feelings. He could feel tears seeping through his eyes. It was so amazing; it's like Sora was reading his mind, reassuring that everything that stopped them from loving each other before was in the past, just as Sora said.

He lifted himself up and swung his arms around the Sora's neck, burying his face at the crook of his neck. Sora wrapped his arms around the other's waist and the other held on to the back of his head, stroking his velvet-like hair.

Sunao smirked as he whispered into his ear, "You're still in trouble for not helping me this morning." Sora laughed inwardly. "You sure know how to ruin a mo…."

Sunao interrupted him by placing a small kiss on his lips. Sora returned the kiss willingly by deepening it. He brushed his tongue over the uke's lips, asking for entrance. Sunao opened his mouth just a little; just enough for the other's to move inside of his mouth. It made Sunao quiver to his touches…to how their tongues entwined with each other. The small kiss became more passionate and intense that after a few moments, Sunao had to push back to breathe. "But for now…" he paused as returned to his neck, kissing it tenderly, moving his lips to the other's ear, and whispered, "I'll let you slide for now."

* * *

Monday came around faster than any student at the academy wanted. Even though they've been through half the year, no one is still able to start the beginning of the school week so roused. Well, almost no one.

"Nao! Sora," an oh-so-familiar-voice called out from the other side of their dorm. Sora and Sunao stirred to the sound of their friend, Matsuri Honjou, knocking on their door and the doorknob rattling. Sunao turned over to his side, now facing his sapphire-blue eyed lover, whose eyes were still closed.

"He'd usually just barge in by now," Sunao groaned. Sora smirked followed by a wicked grin. "It seems he didn't expect for me to lock the door before we went to bed." Sunao couldn't help but giggle. '_Why didn't we ever try that before,_' he pondered as he closed his eyes once more and fell back asleep, both ignoring their wake up calls.

"You do realize that I'm holding the key to your room, right. So you better open up or else." Sora growled. "Fine, just give us a second, will ya?" He slipped out of bed, making his way to the door. When he opened the door, he was immediately greeted by a warm and cheerful smile. "Good morning," he exclaimed as he made his way in.

"Uhh," Sora replied, closing the door behind him.

"Ah, I see Nao-kin has finally made himself at home," Matsuri said, admiring how quick it took for them to finally get settled back in. Sora sat on the edge of Sunao's bed, shaking him gently to wake him up. Sunao groaned, indicating that he was awake, just going to move. "What is it you want, Matsuri? I have a feeling you a have a reason for waking us up," he paused, seeing what time it was. "AT FOUR IN THE MORNING? WHAT THE HELL? CLASS DON'T START AT UNTIL SEVEN"

"Hashiba," Sunao groaned, "stop screaming. I'm trying to sleep."

"Oh Nao-kun. We have no time to sleep now," Matsuri explained. Sunao sighed, sitting up in his bed to see what Matsuri has up his sleeve this time. "'The Do-It-Alls' have a mission this morning. Aya-sama needs our help."

"The head lunch lady," the pinkette asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Hai. A few of the other lunch workers are out for the day, and we were requested to fill in."

"What about lunch," Sunao asked, "We can't just leave class to prepare lunch."

"Ah, but Shinichiro already has gave us permission to be excused." Both Sunao and Sora froze. They realized that if Shinichiro is involved, then they have no choice in the matter. Matsuri is always a step ahead of them. Matsuri smiled. "Get dressed. I'll see you two down stairs," he said as he let himself out. Sunao turned to Sora, who had a depressing look on his face. "What is it?"

"I'm never going to sleep, am I?

"At least you slept in, yesterday."

"You really are going to hold that against me, huh?"

"Yep," he said, followed by a wink, "Now we better get ready."

* * *

"Just eggs, please," Gaku Ichikawa requested. The young scientist smile quickly changed to a surprised expression. He stared at the one who served his eggs. He couldn't believe who it was...probably because he didn't recognize him "F-Fujimori? What are doing over there?"

Fujimori was dressed as a typical lunch worker. Over his regular school clothes, he wore a white apron with bit of food stains on it. His hair was tied in a ponytail, but pinned up and secured in a hairnet.

He bowed his head out of pure annoyance. This was certainly not the first time someone asked that question. However, that wasn't what bothered him. Of all people, Ichikawa has no idea. "You really have to ask," he sighed.

"Matsuri?"

Fujimori nods. "Is Sora in there too?" Fujimori sighs again.

"Yes. He's cleaning up the mess he made in the back." He slammed his hands on the serving counter, growling, just before he shouted loud enough for everyone in the kitchen to hear, especially a certain blue haired boy. "Apparently, the idiot thought that the 'wet floor' sign was for only indicating the water on the floor around the sink. Not just the fact that we just mopped the floor like three minutes before we opened the kitchen." His voice returned to a normal tone as he stated, "So let's just say we won't be having grits this morning." ((A/N: I hate grits. Who does really? Thus, Sora is my favorite person right now))

"Shut up!" Sora screamed from the back of the kitchen," I got it done, didn't I." Sora walked over to the serving line. Gaku could almost die laughing when he saw the grits all over him, slowly dripping off of him. He snickered a little, but after Sora started threatening that if anyone laughs that he would kill them, he stopped.

The awkward silence ending when they heard a faint click close by. It turns out it was Matsuri, taking photo of the couple. Matsuri slid his plate down the serving line, wearing his regular uniform and his hair down…obviously not dressed to help them out in the kitchen like he was suppose to be. "Hi."

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING OVER THERE," both of the boys hollered at the same time. He shrugged his shoulders. "We were able to leave whenever Sora-kun was done cleaning up the grits. Aya-sama said that she will take care of it from here so we could eat."

"You say that now," Sora exhaled.

"You better eat now while you still can. You only have about ten minutes left before class starts."

They both hung their aprons next to the main entrance to the kitchen, along with their hairnets. Sora started snickering to how messed up Sunao's hair looked. After he managed to get all those pins out of his hair, it looked slightly wavy and extremely frizzed up. He snarled, "Say one word and you'll regret it." Sora stopped like the little obedient puppy he truly was. He got his ribbon and pulled his hair up in a ponytail that made his hair look shorter and the waves intentional. "How's that look," he asked Sora. "Not bad," he said with a wide grin.

As they entered the cafeteria, it was obvious that most of the students were finished with their meals and gone off to class. Only a few students remained in the cafeteria, half were even eating. They were just gathered around at a table, gossiping, and copying each other's work.

"So where's Nagase," Matsuri asked as everyone was eating what they could before the bell rung.

"He wanted to get started on the experiment that our science class will be working on today."

"Why he can't just wait like everyone asked, "Sora grumbled.

"Because science is our burning passion," he said, his eyes sparkling and smiles like a gitty school girl. "We now have the desire to conquer everything that science has in our way. Solve any equation, discovery any element-with the power of love…"

Sunao sighed and mumbled as Gaku got carried away in his lost world of love and science speech, "You had to get him started, didn't you, Hashiba?"

He smirked. "Like I had to really say something. Ever since he came back from the hot springs, it's been none stop with this guy. He is really into this guy, Nagase. I guess second chances do make a difference."

"IS ANYONE EVENING LISTENING TO ME?"

"Don't worry," Sora exclaimed, "the whole school probably hears you. Someone is bond to listen."

"You two seem to be getting really close," Matsuri pointed out.

"DON'T ENCOURAGE HIM! WE JUST GOT HIM TO SHUT UP," the couple barked.

"Hmp," Gaku pouted.

"I'm going to head to class," Sunao said as he gathered all his things together, then turning to Sora. "Are you coming?"

"Go ahead. I left my things in my room."

"You better hurry. You're going to be late."

"I'll be fi…" It was then the bell rung.

"You were saying?"_

Sora dashed through the halls as fast as he could to get his things from his room. "Why did I have to leave everything?" He asked himself as he was racing the clock. "Fujimori is right; I am a baka."

"Out of the way," he would shout. Surprisingly he managed to pass by everyone that came across his way like a speeding bullet. There weren't many people there, just a bunch of freshman trying to find there way around still.

He was on the right floor when the late bell rang, "Damn it," he cursed under his breath. He could imagine Shinichiro giving him a hard time for being late…again. Why does he have to have that pointer with him? That thing hurts like hell, and Shinichiro sure knows how to use it quite well. How could this day get any worse? Oh yeah, he has to serve lunch and dinner. Just peachy.

He made it in his room and quickly found all his stuff on his bed. He swung his bag over his shoulder and raced now to get to class as fast as he could. However the moment he made his way out of the room, someone was passing right through his dorm.

The two collided and fell backward. Sora landed on his side, his bag certainly was not something soft to land on. "Owwww," he groaned. This certainly not his best day. The moment he lifted himself up, the other was already sitting up, handing him a green spiral notebook. _'Did that fall out of my bag,' _he wondered. He took the notebook and placed it back in his bag. "Gomen," a soft voice said, "you're not hurt, are you." He looked back over to see the person he ran into.

It was a young man, maybe a year or so younger than Sora. He had short and thick very dark blackish-purple hair, like an average boy's hairstyle. His bangs made it all the way to his eyebrows and covered his entire forehead. His eyes were a bright purple that had that look of innocence gleaming within.

"Yeah, I'm fine; however, I should be the one apologizing," Sora said, offering the young man a friendly smile. "Are you ok?" He nodded as he was gathering all his things and placing them in a box. Sora then noticed how much stuff as around. It wasn't as much as Sunao had when he was moving in their dorm, but it was still obvious. "Here, let me give you a hand. It's the least I can do since I caused it," Sora said as he helped the boy pick up, placing everything so neatly inside the box. "Y-you don't h-have to," he stuttered, "You probably should be get going to whatever you were in a rush for to begin with."

"No, really," Sora said, "I don't mind helping you out. Like I said, I caused this."

"T-Thank you," he said so softly and timidly.

"Are you moving in," Sora asked.

The boy nodded once more. "I-I just transferred here and just got here a few minutes ago, "he responded, not stuttering as much.

"Well then," he stated as they finished up cleaning after their mess, "welcome." They stood up. The boy was about to get his box when Sora held his hand out, "I'm Sora Hashiba."

The boy returned Sora's smile and took his hand. "I'm…Mira…Mira Tanaka," he hesitated, like he had to remember or he was really, really shy.

"Is there anything else I can do?"

"You really should get to class. I don't wanna be the cause for you to be late."

Sora shrugged his shoulders, "I'm already late. I think I can come up with an excuse."

"W-Well, I can't find the room I'm assigned to. Do you think you could direct me to it, p-please?" He requested, reaching in his pocket and handing Sora a piece of paper. Sora read it and looked back at the boy, who had his box secured in his arms. "You're moving into Gaku's old room. Wow, I didn't know Matsuri already had someone planned on moving into that room so quickly. Yeah sure, follow me."

* * *

"Ah, Sora. Nice for you to show up, "Shinichiro said as Sora walked in.

"Sorry about everything, sensei," he apologized as he bowed, "I was…"

"No need to explain, Sora. Sunao told me about the mess you made in the kitchen and had to clean up before leaving. You're excused. Just have a seat."

"Eh?" That was weird. He looked over to where Sunao sat, staring at him with a baffled look on his face. Sunao smiled and gave Sora a little wink; that's when it made all sense to him. As he made his way to his seat, he lipped to 'Thank you' to Sunao. Sora had a seat that was right in front of Sunao.

"What took you so long," Sunao asked.

"Had a little run in, that's all."

Shinichiro sighed, turning back to black, drawing a gridded graph. "Right then, back to the lesson. To solve a system of inequalities, we need to find the ordered pairs that satisfy all of the inequalities in the system. One way…"

Once again, he was interrupted by a faint knock on the other side of the door. "Enter," he demanded.

All eyes were on the purple-eyed student that hesitantly made his way in the classroom. "Is this the Math Department Room?"

"Yes," he answered, "and who may I be addressing?"

"I'm Mira Tanaka." He handed his new teacher a schedule, confirming he is where he should be.

"Well Mira, please make yourself comfortable in any empty seat." Mira turned, now facing the class, scanning the room for any seat. "Tanaka," someone whispered loud enough for him to hear. He turned his head in that direction, seeing Sora Hashiba waving, beckoning for him to sit in the seat next to him.

"You know him," Sunao whispered.

"We met in the halls," Sora explained, "he's really shy."

"I don't blame him," he retorted, "It's hard being the new guy."

Mira sat down in the desk Sora was beside, and everyone paid attention to the lesson. Sunao, as usual, got the lesson really quick, and Sora was caught in his own little world, daydream about whatever comes to mind. Shinichiro realized that that was exactly was what Sora was doing, so he decided that it would be fun to call him out on the spot. "Sora," he said. Sora instantly snapped out of his daydreaming and his eyes were locked on his teacher. '_You just love this,_' Sora hissed within his thoughts_, 'making me look like an idiot in front of everyone.' _"Yes."

His teacher smirked, "Solve the problem on the board." Sora's eyes shifted to the black board and read the equation.

_Find the coordinates of the vertices of the figure formed by x + y is greater than or equal to negative one, x - y is less than or greater than six, and 12y + x is less than or equal to thirty-two._

"Come up to the board and graph each the inequalities," Shinichiro beckoned, holding out a piece of chalk.

"You know I don't know," Sora countered.

"Then perhaps you should listen and then by some miracle it would click to you, instead of watching the clouds go by. Sunao, could you be so helpful."

"Yes, sensei," Sunao said, sitting up and coming up to blackboard. By the time he finished, the entire board was covered with his work with his answers circled. "Very good, Sunao," he said. Sunao brushed the compliment off his shoulders. It wasn't a big deal for him to catch on to math so easily. Shinichiro eyes glanced back at the blue-haired dunce. "Do you understand now, Sora?"

"Hai," he lied. '_Jokes on you. I wasn't listening at all,' _he thought to himself, laughing a little.

"Well, then," he said, erasing all of Sunao's work, including the answer. "Why don't you come over and show us what you know."

_Sweat drop. _

'_How did he…'_

* * *

**Well that's it for now. It's been a while since I wrote a fan fiction (still working on Only in My Dreams folks. I'm on the last chapter, I promise…just having a bit of a problem folding things up. Anyways. I hope you like this so far. It'll get better, though. **


	2. The Scars of Sunao

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Sukisyo nor any of the characters in the following story …except for the very few that will be mentioning in this chapter and the ones yet to come, but you will find out about that later. : P**

**Chapter 2**

**The Scars of Sunao**

Lunchtime came around, and this time, they were a bit more organized. Each member of the 'Do-It-Alls' had something to do. Sunao was stuck washing all the pots and pans. Sora was serving along with Matsuri. After this morning, the head lunch lady was very paranoid whenever Sora would step back in the kitchen. She requested that Sora did the simplest task that they could find-serving chicken tenders, while Matsuri would serve the mashed potatoes and the green beans. As Matsuri was serving with his friend, he felt someone tapping him on the shoulder from behind.

He turned around and found his pink-haired friend drench in water and soap. "Nao-kun?"

"Matsuri, please come back and help me out. No matter what I do, I'd always end up getting everything but the dishes wet."

"Oh, come on," Matsuri said, "it can't be that…"

"LOOK AT ME!"

Matsuri shrugged my shoulders, "Ok then. Just make sure that you keep an eye on Sora." Sunao nodded and handed Matsuri the sponge as Matsuri handed him the serving spoon. He walked up to the serving line, seeing that there weren't much people really there. Sora glanced over his shoulder, noticing the sudden change in positions, "At this rate, we might get to leave earlier than we did this morning," Sunao said, starting a conversation. Sora just sat in the little stool he pulled out for himself earlier, just watching the sight before him with a bored expression on his face. "Yeah," he answered.

Sunao sat closer to Sora, pulling him up seat for himself, "Hashiba," he said lightly, "Is everything alright? You've been more spaced out a lot lately."

Sora turned, now facing Sunao and offered a reassuring smile, "Everything is fine. Don't worry about me, Fujimori."

Sunao opened his mouth to say something when he noticed someone came up to the serving line. "Tanaka," Sora said, "It's been twenty minutes since lunch started. Why are you eating now?"

"Hashiba," Sunao called out, "don't get in his business." Mira turned his attention to the one nagging at Sora. He felt like he's seen him around the university, but couldn't place it. He stared at Sunao. "You…you're in my math class," he concluded. Sunao smiled. "That's right."

"Tanaka, this is Fujimori. Fujimori this is Tanaka."

"Nice to meet you," Sunao said, holding out his hand. Tanaka smiled back, "You, too," he said, returning the smiled and shaking his hand. He let go and looked back at his new acquaintance and looked at him baffled-like.

"That's so funny," he said, thinking outloud. "I thought your eyes were pink, not red." Sora and Sunao's eyes went wide to the boy's observation and instantly Sunao turned to Sora. Sure enough, his eyes were ruby-red. "Must have been the light or something," Mira stated, "Well anyways, nice meeting you." He took his things and head to the dinning hall. The couple still had their eyes locked on to each other. "F-Fujimori?"

"Hashiba," he said, not sure what to believe. When his eyes changed colors like that, it only meant one and one thing only. However, nothing seemed to happen. He was still in tune with his surroundings and didn't feel like his former-alter personality was taking over. All he could feel was the dark and empty that clouded his mind, as if he was feeling empty, without Ran's or his own soul. He was too scared to get up, because it felt like he would fall if he did, so instead he reached his arm so his lover.

Sora quickly moved out of his seat and rushed over to his lover. "Fujimori," he gasped, as he looked into his eyes again. Not only were they red, but they lost any sign of life. He tossed Sunao's limp arm over his shoulder and lifted up. "Fujimori! Can you walk?" There was no answer. His face just froze, looking at the ground with a blank on his face, tears raced down his face. "FUJIMORI! ANSWER ME!"

Matsuri overheard the commotion around the serving line, and walked over. When he heard Sora shouting, he figured they were just fighting over something stupid; however, he was oh so wrong. He found the pinkette, lying on the floor with the over hovering over him, calling out his name frantically as he held on to one of his hands tightly. "Nao-kun," he gasped as he hurried to his friends, kneeling down to his friend's side. He studied the boy's face.

Sunao's eyes were closed as tears seeped through and his body was as stiff as ever. "What…happened?"

Sora's eyes didn't leave his lover as he answered, "I'm not sure, exactly. One moment he was fine. The next, he started losing himself."

Matsuri looked up to his friend. "Losing himself?" He wasn't quite sure what that meant. Before Sora answered, Sunao stirred. "H…Hashiba." His eyes slowly opened. His vision was a bit blurred, but as time passed, he became more aware of his surroundings. He found the strength to sit up. He found the strength to do really anything, as if nothing happened.

"What just happened," Sora asked. Sunao shook his head. "I'm not sure exactly." Matsuri handed Sunao a cup of water, "Drink," he told the pinkette. Sunao accepted it and drank just a sip and handed the cup back to the blonde. "Thank you," he breathed. Sora helped Sunao up, not letting him stand on his own. He had his hand against Sunao's back, just in case he collapses again. "Do you think you can walk," Sora asked, his voice shaky "I think so," Sunao answered.

"Good," he said, "Let's go to Nanami. Okay?" Sunao didn't fight it. He knew something is wrong with him

"Okay."

* * *

Shinichiro sat in the loveseat they moved in Nanami's office. He sat on one side as he the other say just inches away from him. "You must be hungry," he said, opening up the pink box that rested on his lap, revealing Nanami's best cuisines. As Nanami reached over for the chop-sticks on the nightstand, but stopped when he felt Shinichrio leaning against his back with his hand on top of Nanami's. His face reddened as he felt Shinichiro's breath against his ear, whispering huskily, "I don't think I'm exactly hungry for that." He picked up the box and placed it on the nightstand. "Not when I see such a delicacy before me." "Shinichiro," he breathed as Shinichiro's lips were just inches from his.

_Knock. Knock._

"Come back, later," Shinichiro barked, ruining the entire mood. "Shinichiro," Nanami exclaimed, "behave yourself." Nanami sat up to answer the door. "Hashiba-kun? Fujimori-kun?" Sora had his arms around the other's torso, supporting the other to stand. This couldn't be good. Nanami beckoned them to come in. "What's wrong?"

Sora placed Sunao gently on the loveseat as he explained himself. "Fujimori fainted earlier." Nanami gasped. "Oh my. Are you alright, Fujimori?"

"I feel fine now," he answered, not really feeling comfortable talking about it. "What happened," Nanami asked.

Sora explained-he understood how awkward Sunao felt at the moment. "We were serving lunch when Fujimori's eyes changed color. It was as if Ran was summoning himself."

"Ran," Shinichiro asked, sounding more interested in the conversation, and his eyes widened in shock. Sora nodded. "However, Ran never appeared. Fujimori began to lose control over his body, started crying, and then collapsed. A few minutes later, he woke up just fine, like nothing ever happened."

"How strange," Nanami thought outloud. Shinichiro turned to Sunao. "Did anything happen usual happened before? Something you did differently?" Sunao shook his head. "Like Hashiba said, we were just serving lunch, he introduced me to the new student, Mira Tanaka, and then I started losing control."

"Did you feel Ran's presence," Nanami asked. Sunao shook his head again. "No. All I felt was this dark aura, like my heart was heavy."

"Sounds like guilt," Shinichiro said. Nanami nodded. "Fujimori, it has only been a few weeks since Aizawa. Perhaps you're still feeling under pressure. Maybe you should take it easy for a little while."

"But I have school, and Hashiba and Matsui-Chan need me. I can't take just take it easy."

"You might be pulling off more than you can handle. Why not take a little break from the 'Do-It-All' team until we're sure everything is fine? You probably have been missing out on a lot relaxation, anyway."

"But I feel fine," he argued.

"A lot has happened," Sora said, "perhaps you don't even realize it, Fujimori."

Sunao opened his mouth to object, but Sora interrupted. "Just relax for a week and let's see how you are then. Besides, how can you turn down an excuse from the 'Do-It-All' team?" Sunao believes that he should, but would feel too guilty if he left Sora with all the work, but his friends do have a point. It all just seems like a sign of stress/anxiety. Perhaps a few extra hours of relief are just what he needs. "Fine," he agreed.

The bell rung moments afterwards. "You all should be heading to class," Nanami suggested.

"Hai," Shinichiro said, getting up and taking his leave, without saying good-byes of any sort-his normal behavior. Nanami turned to Sora, "I want a moment alone with Sunao." Sora glanced over to the pinkette, who offered him a reassuring smile, "I guess I'll see you in a while."

"Y-yeah," he said before he left as well, waving to his closest friend farewell for now. Nanami waited a few moments before he began discussing with Sunao. "So, tell me, is everything alright between you and Hashiba-kun?"

Sunao nodded. "He's been really considerate, like he's always looking out for me…protecting me. However he's trying his hardest for me to feel like everything is okay, now. But I just can't pass this feeling that I owe Hashiba." He bows his head, hiding the up coming tears. "As our relationship blooms, I feel more and more guilty after all that I did. After all that was planned to happen. I just don't understand how he could just let it all go."

"Sunao…" Nanami walked over and wrapped his arms around the boy. Sunao just began to cry, trying to muffle it in Nanami's shoulder. "He tells me he loves me, and I love him as well…but there's this feeling that follows me, telling that I'm unworthy and reminds me of the hate I bared, reminding me of the fact that I could've killed him back then."

"What does Hashiba say?"

"That everything is in the past and we can move on."

"Sunao…what do you say?"

* * *

It was a few hours before lights out, and Sunao was in his room, getting ready for bed. He was already dressed in sleeping clothes-a plain white shirt and dark green pajama bottoms. His hair was unbounded from the pony-tail. He sat on his bed, brushing his long pink hair, when Sora walked in from his shower.

"Ah," he heaved a sigh, "Nothing like a shower before bed." He flopped onto his bed, enjoying the comforting mattress he landed on, hugging his pillow. Sunao watched as sapphire- eyed boy nuzzled against his pillow, putting the brush on the nightstand. He kept his legs together, rested his hands on his lap, and looking down in that direction. "Umm…Hashiba," Sunao said in a quiet and nervous tone. Sora turned over on his bed, now facing his lover, noticing how uneasy he appeared. "What's wrong, Fujimori," he asked. Fujimori stood up from his bed and walked over to the other's bed, sitting on the edge of Sora's bed and back facing him. Sora could only see the side profile of Sunao's face, until he turned his face away. "Sunao?"

"Hashiba…do you hate me?" Sora's eyes widened to that question. How could he even wonder such a thing; however, this apparently was something serious to his lover, thus why he decided to approach the situation calmly. He sat up slowly, so he wouldn't startle the other, wrapping his arms around him, pulling him closer. Sora leaned up against the wall with Sunao resting on his front side. "No," he whispered, "I could never hate you, Sunao." Sunao leaned into Sora.

"I love you, Hashiba," he said, "but I feel that I don't deserve you." He paused, taking a quiet deep breath before he continued. "I just don't understand how you could love me after all I've done to you. It feels like there's a reminder always there, telling me all what I've done in the past. But now, here I am, in your arms, Aizawa's gone, and now I'm living this new life. It's happening so fast I…" he was interrupted when he felt Hashiba's hand under his chin, turning his face to face Sora's, just before he pressed his lips against the other's. Sunao's eyes shut tightly, taking in this moment as he wraps his arms around Sora's neck. Sora moved back and pulled Sunao into a hug.

"None of that was your fault nor do I hold a grudge over it. The only person who was responsible for all that is dead now. You're free Sunao, and I wish I could take all your pain of all those years being brainwashed by that man…and it hurts me knowing that you are still under his influence, but I promise, Sunao…I swear that I am going to do my best to give you days of happiness, to pull you out of the darkness you were dragged in."

"Hashiba…"

"Do you believe me, Sunao?" It took a few moments for Sunao to respond. It was all so much for him to sink, to fully understand he was saying. He knew Hashiba wasn't lying, but his heart struggled to believe his words. He nodded. "Good," Sora said. "It's getting a little late. We should be getting to bed."

"Hashiba?"

"Hm?"

"Could I sleep with you?" Sora's eyes softened. He smiled as he scooted over for Sunao to get under the covers. Sora held Sunao in a loving embrace. "I love you, Sunao," he whispered in his ear. Sunao smiled peacefully as he drifted off to sleep, managing to say, "I love you too," right before both fell asleep.

* * *

**Needs a little work, I know, but I'm getting there slowly yet surely. Anyways I hope you're enjoying it as I enjoy writing it…yes I'm writing it too. Please R&R.**


	3. Resemblance

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Sukisyo nor any of the characters in the following story …except for the very few that will be mentioning in this chapter and the ones yet to come, but you will find out about that later. : P**

**Chapter 3**

**Resemblance**

_Sunao stood in the middle of this vacant room and waited. "So you truly believe that you can be trusted," a voice said. Sunao bowed his head. "I am willing to prove my loyalty to you," he answered, feeling disgusted with himself for saying such things to the one who has caused him so much misery. However, not as much misery as the one who deceived him-the one who he, at one time, loved more than anything in this world; now the one who love to put him through the same heart aches he's been through. He wants to put that _traitor _on his knees and tear out his heart. He heard soft laughter from behind. "Is that so?"_

_He heard footstep from ahead. He glanced up and saw Aizawa, standing there a few yards away from him with a wicked yet calm smile on his face that sent shivers down Sunao's spine._

"_**Sunao,"**__ a voice called out from within his mind, __**"don't give into him."**__ Sunao acknowledged Ran's warning, but ignored it. "I'll do whatever it takes to gain your trust. I'll answer and obey to you and only you."_

_Aizawa smirked. "Let's test that then."_

"_**Sunao,"**__ the voice called out even louder, sounding frantic. Sunao, once again, ignored his alternate personality and waited for Aizawa to give his command. Aizawa reached out and grabbed on to a rope and pulled it. Sunao's eyes followed the rope until he saw what was on the end. A teenaged girl with long hair tied into a messy pony-tail that was a dark purple that was probably a few shades away from being considered black was tied up by the wrists. She wore a gown that was about few sizes too big to really see the shape of her body; has she starved herself since she arrived? The gown reached down to her mid section of her thighs-just about the same length as her hair. She stared at Sunao with big and purple eyes. "This Fujimori," Aizawa explained, "is experiment 005. She has been proven to be one of my greatest experiments. Because her experiment is complete, she no longer has a purpose here." He stared into Sunao's eyes, seeing if Sunao understands where this is leading to._

_Sunao just froze. He couldn't believe that he was actually asking this from him. Actually, he could, just caught him by surprise. "To your right," Aizawa explained, "you'll see a box." Sunao looked to his right beside his feet, and sure enough, there was a small box. "Open it," Aizawa commanded. Sunao squatted down until he was able to reach the lid of the box. His eyes widened to what he saw what was in the box. "There is only one bullet in that gun. Don't fail me, Fujimori."_

_Sunao took hold of the gun, getting the feel of it. He never used a gun before, but knew the jest of how to use it. '_Just pull the trigger,_' he thought to himself, seeing the trigger. His eyes returned to the girl. She looked at him with determination. Does she want to die? To that thought, he figured that he was doing the girl a favor, freeing her from this hell. For he knew, once you are in the hands of Aizawa, there was no escape but one. He approached the two slowly. __**"Sunao,"**__ Ran screamed to him,__** "I won't let you do this!"**_

"_If this is what will gain his trust, then I have no choice," he said in his thoughts, speaking to Ran. He could hear Ran gasp to his response, and for a moment, there was silence. __**"Is this what you really want?"**_

"_Yes." _

_Suddenly, just as Sunao pointed the gun to the girl, his eyes changed to that crimson red color. Ran forced him to take over Sunao's body. This time, _he_ had a chance to take a good look at the victim. She looked almost their age, if not a little younger, her eyes were dull and lifeless. She glared at the boy as if she was begging him to do it, or really didn't care about the outcome of what was yet to come. Tears drizzled down his face as he said quietly enough for only one person to hear, Sunao. __**"I won't let you carry this sin over your shoulders."**_

_**BANG**_

Sunao's eyes shot wide open. He sat up abruptly in Sora's bed, panting heavily. His eyes scanned the room, seeing that he was in his dormitory, and not in Aizawa's lab; he was beside the one he loved most and not with Aizawa. It was just a nightmare. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, after waiting for him to stop shaking.

He cast an eye over to the digital clock that was place on the nightstand next to Sora's bed. The clock glowed, '4:57 AM.' That was close to when Sora's alarm would go off so they could get ready for school. Sunao reached over and shut the alarm off. He considered Sora didn't need much to get ready, since he already showered last night, meaning that he would only be getting up to make sure that Sunao would get up. He quietly made his way out of bed, gathered the things he would need for the shower, and made his way out of the room. There was no way he was going to find it in him to sleep again.

As he wondered down the halls, his mind drifted to the nightmare from earlier. "Was that _just _a nightmare," he suddenly thought outloud. He remembered he had to do something to gain Aizawa's trust, but did he really do that? Did he really kill an innocent person? He doesn't remember actually firing a gun to someone, but that nightmare. That nightmare seemed too real to be just that.

He entered the bathhouse, taking note that not many people were there. He guessed most of the boys showered at night.

He hung his uniform over the stall and turned on the shower, he waited for a few minutes for the water to heat up, which was one of the benefits of showering in the morning when not many people really did: all the hot water for himself.

"_Don't fail me, Fujimori." _his mind repeated the words of Aizawa in his head. He gasped and gripped on to the sides of his head, feeling a major headache coming on. The phrase echoed in his mind as it seemed to get louder and louder. He slammed a fist up against the wall. "Shut up," he nearly screamed as he emotionally collapsed to the ground, landing on his knees, and began to cry.

He could see it right now. That expression on that girl's face. What was with her? Why didn't she scream, begged for him to stop, or even showed any sign of fear when he pointed the gun to her? Was he right on his assumption and she really did just want to die? He didn't even know her name…or if she was real at that matter. Perhaps if he did a little investigating, he could find out more about 'Experiment 005.' Once he finished his shower, he dried himself off, dressed up in his school uniform, and bundled his hair up in the towel.

He creaked the door only slightly so he could pop his head in, checking if Sora was awake or not. Seeing to as how there was a huge lump under Sora's sheets, he's going to guess not. He entered the room, quietly so he wouldn't disturb his roommate, seeing to as how he still had another half of an hour before six.

"Urghhh," Sora moaned, causing Sunao to jolt in his bed as he was tying his shoe laces. Sunao looked up and offered him a cheerful smile. "I was just about to wake you up."

"What time is it," Sora asked in a groggy tone, rubbing the sleep out his eyes.

"A little past five thirty," he answered simply.

"When did you get up," he asked, sounding a bit more alert. It wasn't normal for Sunao to get up on time, especially this early in the morning.

"Just about an hour ago," he said, seeing his lover stare at him with questioning eyes. "I guess it had something to do with waking up around four, yesterday," he quickly lied; not really wanting to talk about he woke up from this nightmare.

"Yeah," Sora said, understanding where he was coming from, "Thanks for letting me sleep in, Fujimori."

"Sure," he said, passing him his clothes. "Breakfast starts pretty soon, and this time we can just go and eat."

Sora smirked. "I could get use to that." Sora slipped on his clothes in no rush, which he found to be the first in a while. He really could get use to this.

* * *

Sunao and Sora arrived just in time. They went through the serving line, just like every other student, only this time, both of gave their regards to the lunch workers. "We really appreciate everything you're doing," Sunao said, smiling to how he doesn't have to fill in their shoes again. Sora smiled as well, "You ladies are the best, "Sora added. The lunch ladies just stared at the two boys, dumbfounded. "Um…thanks," one of the finally said.

"NAO! SORA!" They heard someone called their names when they exited the serving line, but couldn't figure out where it was coming from; there were just so many people. They knew it was Matsuri calling them, they just didn't know where. It was amazing that they couldn't find the only blonde in school. "Oh wait," Sunao thought outloud, pointing straight ahead, "There he is!" Sora looked in the direction Sunao was pointing and sure enough, there he was. When they arrived at the table, they found that Matsuri was not the only one sitting there. "Oh," he started, "I'm pretty sure you've met the new transfer student?" Across the table, sat a very nervous Mira. He sat there, looking below, shivering like crazy. "H-Hello again, H-Hashiba-senpai, F-Fujimori-senpai," he said, not really looking up.

"Oh you don't have to be scared of them, as well," Matsuri pointed out, "They're really nice."

"Baka," Fujimori barked at Matsuri, "he's probably not use to being around a bunch of people." He turned to the new student, "You'll have to excuse our friend, Tanaka. He really has a thing for surprising people when they're off guard."

"I-I figured," he stammered, looking up to Fujimori in the eyes. Fujimori gasped, '_Those eyes,' _he thought to himself, staring at the boy in awed. They were so familiar, just like… "Fujimori," Sora said, waving his hand in front of his face, "You okay?"

"Huh," he breathed, free from his trance. "Of course, I'm fine."

Sora raised an eyebrow, not really believing what he was saying, but isn't going to start a scene in front of everyone. "If you say so," he replied.

"So how are you liking the academy, Tanaka," Matsuri asked, really trying to break the ice with this guy.

"It's nice," he said, a bit calmer than earlier, but still not satisfying-enough-of-an-answer for Matsuri. He really wishes he could just get this kid talking.

"What was it like in your old school," Sora asked.

"I was home-schooled," he explained, "This is really my first time being exposed to so many people at once in my life. It really seems kind of scary." He took a small bit of his French toast.

"It is scary," Fujimori stating, agreeing with his friend. "I was new, too. However, after seeing Hashiba and Matsuri-chan, things didn't seem so bad. You could always spend time with us, if you like." Mira smiled. "That's really sweet of you, Fujimori-senpai. It's pretty comforting to know that someone here gets it."

"S-sure," he said, still thinking about the shocking resemblance the two has. As they chatted through the rest of their breakfast period, Sunao wondered if that dream was all just a dream and nothing more. He considered that it was possible to replace the face of 'Experiment 005' with someone he recognized, like Mira, for example. So for all he knows, 'Experiment 005' could look like anyone. However, it could be possible that…

"Fujimori," Sora called out again, and repeated the same thing he did before-waving his hand in his face. Sunao, once again, was interrupted by Sora from his train of thoughts. He looked at the blue-eyed teen. "What is it," he asked.

"It's time for class," he explained, raising an eyebrow, "Didn't you hear the bell ring?" Sunao blinked a few times before answering, "Oh…" he said, "No." Sora swung his bag over his shoulder before saying, "Well come on." Sunao gathered everything together and went off his way, following his friends to class.

'_There's only one person that can explain all this,' _Sunao concluded in his thoughts.

* * *

**Me: Well?**

**Rosie: What?**

**Me: No sarcastic remark?**

**Rosie: Give me a moment**

**Me: …**

**Rosie: *clears throat* **

**Dear Renee's Diary,**

**Me: Wait! I don't have a diary!**

**Rosie: But I live in your head…basically, I am your diary.**

**Me: *duct tape Rosie's mouth* In that case, let's stop and let the reader go on. *laughs nervously* Hope you liked it!**


	4. Coming Around

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Sukisyo nor any of the characters in the following story …except for the very few that will be mentioning in this chapter and the ones yet to come, but you will find out about that later. : P**

**Chapter 4**

**Coming Around**

A few days have passed, and every night, Fujimori continued to have that same nightmare. And just like the first night, when he woke up, it was impossible for to go back to sleep. After a while, it has gotten to which Sunao would wake up around midnight and forced to stay up after that. He would just spend the next few hours, laying in his bed, thinking about the events his mind play over and over. So much for this relaxing time he was suppose to be having.

It has been almost a week, but he has never felt more stressed out in his life. All he could ever think about was that nightmare, and it has been obvious his thoughts were not in tuned with his surroundings. Within a few days, Sunao has managed to fall down a small set of stairs, poured milk on his sushi instead of soy sauce, hasn't been able to think straight when he has been doing his homework, and even walked into a few doors while they were closed. His friends were so concern, but Sunao would just say the same thing every time. "I'm fine," or "Don't worry about it." That would drive Sora crazy whenever he would say that. It doesn't take a genius to figure out something was wrong with Sunao, but for some reason, Sunao refused to open up about it. Sunao really isolate his feelings to himself, and Sora could see that it was killing Sunao on the inside. One night, he woke up to the sound of Sunao crying. That was the last straw.

"Fujimori," Sora said, raising himself up from his bed, seeing the pink haired teen crying his eyes out in his pillow. Fujimori immediately stopped crying and turned his head. His thoughts were not playing jokes with him; Sora really was there, talking to him. Fujimori tried to clam himself down by taking deep breaths, which made it appear even more obvious that he was crying, because he was just making hiccup noises as he breathed. "K-K-Kuu-chan," he spluttered. Sora slid out of his bed and walked over to the other's. He made himself comfortable on the edge of his bed, right next Sunao. He reached out and took hold of Sunao's cheek, kindly brushing away the tears away with his face. "I can't stand to see you like this anymore," he declared to Sunao. "Nao," he whispered softly, making Sunao gasp; it's been a long time since he's called him Nao, then he realized that he just called Sora 'Kuu-chan'. He must be really out of it.

"Nao," he said again, "please don't keep me in the shadows anymore. What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry I woke you up, Sora," Sunao mumbled. Sora smiled. "It's okay," he cooed, "but don't change the subject." Sunao bowed his head, feeling the guilt of dragging Sora into this and making him worry so much. He didn't know how he was going to say it. _'Hey Sora. Guess what? I killed people.' _Yeah. That would work out nicely.

"I…" he started but hesitated.

"What?"

"I…I think I did something bad." Sora raised an eyebrow. "And that would be?"

Sunao hugged his pillow closely against his chest, feeling like he was about to cry again. "Back when I was working with Aizawa, I had…I had to do something that has been haunting me for a while." Sora leaned closer to his lover until his lips landed on Sunao's forehead, followed by a warming embrace. "Nao," he said, "nothing that happened in that lab was your fault. The entire fault belongs to Aizawa."

Sunao shook his head. "Not this time," he admitted. "I had a choice and I chose to do what exactly he wanted. I didn't have to…" he began to cry again, curling up against his lover, feeling so small for turning to other's for help. He gripped onto Sora's shirt, burying his face in his chest as he sobbed.

"Nao, you were brainwashed for years and years. You didn't think clearly, back then. He probably pressured to do whatever it was. Either way, it's in the past and…"

"I killed someone," Sunao blurted out as he began to shake uncontrollably, refusing to look up at Sora. "I took a gun and shot her." He gripped onto Sora even tighter because he feared that Sora would push him away once he realized that he was a murderer. "I didn't have to do it, but I did, and now these memories are haunting me. No matter what I do, I can only see her face. I can only hear the sound of the gun going off. And yet…and yet I feel so confused. I don't even remember actually shooting her, but I know I did, otherwise, Aizawa wouldn't have let me come to the academy."

Sora just held on to him as he poured out his heart. He knew Sunao was strong so whatever was bothering him wasn't something small. He just didn't believe what he was hearing. However… "Shh," he said, comforting Sunao, "It's alright, Nao. Shh. I'm here. I'm here."

"How is it alright," he questioned, "I took someone's life away! How is it that…" he stopped when Sora placed his finger against Sunao's lips, silencing him for a moment, just more than enough time that he needed. "It's alright, because you don't have to face this alone, anymore. I'm here and I won't leave you. I promise that somehow, we'll overcome this together." He looked up at Sora, running his hand against his cheek.

"Hashiba," he said, "I can't let you carry this over your shoulders. You didn't have anything to do with it. It would be selfish of me to drag you into this."

"Sunao, I can't let you just spend nights threatening over this. You're not dragging me into it. I am choosing to stand by your side through every obstacle that is in you way. I am choosing to help you, Sunao." He took a hold of the hand that rested against his cheek and kissed his palm lightly, before returning it back to his cheek, not letting it go. "I'm doing this because I love you."

"Hashiba," he murmured, letting the tears fall down freely his face. He felt so many emotions overwhelm him. He felt happiness, regret, sorrow, comforted, and at ease mixed around in his core. Sora lifted up Sunao's head, so he could he kiss the tears away, then his lips moved toward his ear, just inches away from touching. "I meant it when I said I won't abandon you, Nao," he whispered huskily in his ear, making the smaller boy's eye shot open, feeling as if Sora had sent his heart flying. Sora kissed his cheek before looking back at him, staring at him with soft eyes, sparkling in the moonlight. "How is it that you are always able to say the right things when I need you most?" Sora chuckled. "Perhaps I learned a thing or two from Yoru," he remarked. Sunao smiled for the first time in a long time, which made Sora feel twenty times better seeing a genuine-Sunao-smile, rather than the one he would use as he pretended when everything was ok, not really convincing him. However, Yoru just made Sunao remember something. "Hashiba," he said seriously, pushing back from him, showing Sora by the look on his face that he what had to say was serious. "Hashiba, I need to somehow speak to Ran, again."

Sora stared at him bewildered-like, having no idea where this is going to. "Ran," he asked, just making sure he heard right. Sunao nodded. "Yes," he breathed before he continued to explain. "I don't remember exactly killing the girl, but like I said before, I know it happened. However, I'm not sure it _I _was the one who killed her. I remember pointing the gun to her, but I blacked out before actually pulling the trigger. I think Ran took over before I could kill her…"

"He was looking out for you," Sora stated, "I think he realized how this could've effected you, so he took your place." Sunao nodded again. "I believe so, too. In this dream I've been having, I could hear him telling me that he wasn't going to let me go through with it just as I blacked out."

"So why do you want to speak to Ran now," Sora asked. He understood that Ran was a major part in the situation, but Sunao knows what happened. What more could he want from him?

"I wonder if Ran knew more about that girl, than I did. I want to know more about 'Experiment 005.' Maybe Ran could shed some light for me, since I already feel so lost in the darkness already. But there's just one thing: I don't know how to summon him. Yoru was the one who guided me through it all…I was hoping that maybe you could summon him to get him to help me summon Ran again. So then…Ran could tell me when my eyes are lying to me or not. However, I know I'm just biting off more than I can chew."

"Sunao," Sora uttered. He watched as he saw tears stream down his face. "Please don't cry."

"I just wanted to live a normal life," he said with a shaky voice, clutching onto the sides of his head as his eyes closed tightly, "but," he sighed, seeing the girl again with that lifeless look in her eyes just before he blacked out-just before she died, "I feel locked up in this cell in my mind. I'm forced to see these images until the day I die. I feel as if I'm not allowed to live a normal life, because of everything that has happened before."

There was a long pause before Sora finally spoke. In between then, it was Sunao and Sora, holding on to each other. Sunao feels like Sora is just pulling off more than he can handle, but feels obligated to comfort him in this time off need. "Do you think this has something to do with what happened Monday," Sora asked Sunao. Sunao shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not sure."

Sora kissed the top of Sunao's head and rested his chin there. "We'll figure this out, I promise."

"Kuu-chan," Sunao murmured, "Do you think this will ever end and we can really just move on?" Sora looked at Sunao, smiling at him as he said, "I believe that we can create wonderful memories together. However, no one lives a perfect life-a life without worry or pain from time-to-time. But yes, I do believe we can move on from all this. It's just going to take some time."

"And speaking of time," Sora added, "it's almost two, and we have tests this morning. Do you think you can sleep, now?" Sunao hesitated for a moment, but then nodded. Sora looked into his eyes for reassurance. Sunao, once again, nodded. "I'll be fine for now, Kuu-chan." Sora kissed Sunao lightly on the lips before he returned to his bed. "Sleep well," Sora said, turning over in his bed.

Sunao was sitting in the same position as earlier. He was sitting up, hugging his knees up to his chest with a pillow in between. He was watching Sora making himself comfortable in his bed. "You too," he responded, lying back on his bed. He had the pillow lying parallel to him, with his head resting on part of the pillow, as he wrapped his arms around it. It didn't help much; he could seem to get comfortable. "Kuu-chan, are you still awake," he whispered, just in case he wasn't asleep. There was no answer, so that means that Sora must've fallen asleep. Sunao quietly made his way out of his bed and curled up into Sora's. He held his arms around Sora the same way he did to his pillow, now feeling much better, just wished he had Sora holding on to him as well.

For some reason, it was like Sora was reading Sunao's mind. Sora made a groaning noise in his sleep as he turned over to his side, now facing Sunao, wrapping his arms around him protectively. "Mmm," he mumbled in his sleep, "Toshizou." Sunao giggled and decided to play with Sora's mind. Sunao made that soft squealing noise Toshizou would make when you held him tight enough. Sunao liked the results, Sora held on to Sunao even tighter. "Perfect," Sunao said before drifting off into a deep sleep.

* * *

Sora woke up to the sound of the alarm clock beeping rapidly and loudly. He reached over to shut it off, until he heard someone stirred in his bed. He looked in his arms, and found Sunao sleeping. _'He must've had a hard time sleeping,'_ he concluded. His mind drifted off to last night's discussion.

"_I feel locked up in this cell in my mind. I'm forced to see these images until the day I die. I feel as if I'm not allowed to live a normal life, because of everything that has happened before," _Sora replayed what Sunao said in his thoughts. "I wish I could take it all away, Nao," he whispered to Sunao's sleeping form, knowing he can't hear anything he says, "I promise I'll get you smiling, again, just like before." As he said those last words, he thought back on the days at the orphanage, before they were forced to live through that hell.

/Flashback/

"_Sora Hashiba," The head of the orphanage said, walking up to him. Sora stood up straight, not moving an inch. He was guessing that he was caught sneaking out the other night with Sunao. Usually the hostess wouldn't have good news for Sora or anything positive to say to Sora. "Yes ma'am," he said, remaining absolutely still. "Shinichiro-sama is here for you and Sunao," she explained, "So go get Sunao and meet him at the front entrance, okay?" Sora literally jumped out of his shoes. "Yay," he screamed as he dashed around the place looking for his little friend. _

_Sunao, as a young boy, wearing his little white shorts and dark-blue sailor shirt sat on one of the swings with a very depressing look on his face. Little Sora appeared out of no where, now standing on one of the swings. "Nao," he asked, "What's the matter?"_

"_I miss Matsuri-chan," little Sunao sobbed, with fresh tears falling down his cheeks. "I wish he didn't have to leave." Sora hopped of his swing, landing on his feet and walked over to Sunao, giving him a friendly hug. "I miss him, too," he said, "but you're not alone. I'll be here for you, and I'm not going anywhere." Sora liked how he was able to make his friend smile so easily. He felt like he was a big brother, looking out for his little brother, making sure everything was ok. Sunao wiped his tears away and gave Sora a big hug. _

"_Don't ever leave me, Kuu-chan," he said, standing up from the swing, "I don't wanna live without both of my friends."_

"_You got it," Sora said, with a wide grin on his face. "Now come on, Oni-chan is waiting for us up front." Sunao and Sora raced to the front to spend the weekend with Shinichiro and Nanami, they're favorite time of the week. _

_However, at one point, they were separated, and Sunao was forced to live six to seven miserable years alone, without Sora or Matsuri around. It was hell for both of them. But now is the chance they can start fresh._

/End Flashback/

Sora growled. "I'm not going let that happen, again," he said, erasing the memories of them being taken away from his mind. He focused on the smaller boy. He watched him flip over to his stomach, planting the side of his face on the pillow with a peaceful expression on his face. As much as he would love to watch Sunao for a while longer, they do have things to do for today. He shook Sunao slightly, "Hey," he said, "time to get up."

Sunao stirred, opening a small portion of his eyes. "Sleep well," Sora asked until he looked into Sunao's eyes…they were red.

"Hashiba," Sunao groaned, "why are you looking at me like that?" Sora stared down at him with a worried and terrified look on his face, his eyes popped open along with his mouth. "Fujimori…" he gasped. There is no way this was happening! "How are you feeling," he asked the pinkette.

"Fine," he said, rubbing the sleep out of his eye. "I slept much better, thanks to you," he said with a friendly smile. He looked again to Sora, who was still looking at him with that shocked look in his cerulean blue eyes. "Hashiba?"

Sora just stared, waited to see if there was going to be any sudden change in his behavior, like if he was acting like a different person-a person they knew all too well. He watched for a while as Sunao's eye color would fade from a crimson red to the normal rosy pink color. He sighed, "Thank goodness."

"What," Sunao asked, not understanding what is going on. Sora shook his head. "Don't worry about it," he answered, "We should be getting ready for school. You better go shower while you still can." Sunao didn't bother asking it. It was too early in the morning to threat over something.

"Ok," he said, getting out of bed, followed by Sora.

* * *

Sora and Sunao walked down the halls, heading toward Matsuri's room. They found Matsuri talking to Mira at his door. Mira has been coming around the past few days. He isn't so hesitant to speak to the three, but they notice how hesitant he is around others. He speaks more freely around them, as well, which is what Matsuri is surely excited about. Sora smirked. Sunao looked to Sora, "What is it?"

Sora grinned, "I think Matsuri has found himself a little boyfriend." Sunao rolled his eyes. "It hasn't even been a week, yet you make these assumptions," Sunao said. Sora nodded, even though it was obviously a rhetorical comment. Mira eyes caught sight of his two other friends. He waved at them. "There you guys are," he said as they approached the group.

"We were tempted to leave you guys behind," Matsuri commented.

"Good to know," Sora said, smiling. They all together head toward their first class. "So Tanaka," Matsuri said out of sudden, Mira looked up, "Hmm?"

"I was thinking," he started to explain, "Nao has been taking a few days off from the 'Do-It-All' team, and there is so much that needs to be done…"

"What's the 'Do-It-All' team," Mira asked, interrupting Matsuri.

"We formed a little team and do small favors for people from time-to-time," he answered.

"SMALL FAVORS?"

"FROM TIME-TO-TIME?"

Both of the boys were appalled by such an understatement. Mira giggled at the look on their faces, as they glared at Matsuri. "Yes. So anyways, Tanaka, would you like to be apart of the team?" Both Sunao and Sora started to shake their heads uncontrollably behind Matsuri's back, trying their best to save their new friend while they still can. "I don't know," Mira said, pondering for a moment, "It seems time consuming and I have schoolwork."

"Oh don't worry," Matsuri assured, "There'll be plenty of time of that."

Mira glanced over Matsuri's shoulder again, seeing that Sora and Sunao were still shaking their heads. "Well…I guess I could give it a try," Mira thought outloud, making Matsuri smile, and the others bowed their heads in defeat. "You're in for it," Sora commented outloud. "There's no escape," Sunao added.

"Wonderful," Matsuri shouted, taking a hold of Mira's hands, cupping them together, making Mira lightly blush, "I'm so happy to hear that. As your manager, I'd like to welcome you to the team. Now we can get back to work." They entered the room and sat down in their seats they were assigned.

Both Sora and Sunao were left wondering what Matsuri has planned for the 'Do-It-All' team. Surely, since he recruited a new member it isn't small.


	5. Confession

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Sukisyo nor any of the characters in the following story …except for the very few that will be mentioning in this chapter and the ones yet to come, but you will find out about that later. : P**

**Chapter 5**

**Confession**

**Note: I am pretty sure Stephen King is a famous author throughout the globe, but I thought this would be funnier. No, I am not stealing his work. You'll see what I'm talking about.**

**Rosie: You pretty much gave it away.**

**Me: Did not!**

The final bell rung and everyone dashed out the doors. Throughout the hallways, you could hear everyone talking about what they are planning to do for the next week. For this week is their 'Spring Break'.

The four boys sat on the stairway to the main entrance of the school, watching everyone leave with their families. Matsuri smiled. "Aren't you two going to spend the week with Shinichiro and Nanami," he asked Sunao and Sora. Sunao answered for them. "We're planning on having dinner with them every once in a while," Sunao explained, "but there isn't room for Hashiba and me to stay the night. We're just staying in the dormitory."

"What about you, Matsuri," Mira asked. Matsuri shrugged his shoulders, "I'm going to be here as well."

"Shouldn't your parents be coming by," Sora asked. Mira shook her head. "My parents live in America."

"You use to live in America," Sora asked. The little things you learn each day. Mira nodded. "I lived in America all my life until I moved here."

"But you look Japanese," Sunao pointed out. "That's because my parents are from Japan. When they got married, they wanted to explore the world. They visited America during their honeymoon and have been there every since."

"So what are you doing here if your family is there," Sora asked. Mira was quiet then. Sora felt like such an idiot. It was obvious that he asked too much and wished he could have stopped himself before he answered. He opened his mouth to apologize, but Mira spoke before. "Without going into too many details," he said, not looking at his friends, "I came here for the family that was nearby." He looked at them, seeing that they were concern about him. He offered a reassuring smile. "So I guess we're all staying here. Sounds exciting."

"It does," Matsuri confirmed, picking up on how Mira was trying to change the subject. Matsuri has picked up on a few things from watching Mira. "We should take advantage of it. How about we have a sleep over?" Everyone smiled at the idea. "We could use some time together," Sora answered, thinking more that Sunao could use some fun time with friends. Maybe this was what he needed to clear off his mind from everything. "Sounds like fun," Sunao answered, feeling the same way Sora was without knowing. They all turned to Mira. Mira stared back with a blank expression. "What? Me too?"

Matsuri nodded. "You're our friend, too. This could be a chance to get to know each other better." Mira pondered for a second. "Well, I guess I could…" before it was said and done, Matsuri hugged his new friend and smiled like a giddy school girl. "Yay," he said. Mira just sat there, blushing like crazy. He really wasn't use to Matsuri hugging him like that. "So where should it take place," Matsuri asked, going on about the idea.

"My place has plenty of space," Mira suggested.

"Cool, so how about we meet at Tanaka's room at sundown?" Matsuri turned to Mira, seeing if the time was okay. Mira just nodded. "That's fine with me." Sunao just nodded. "Sounds simple enough," he said quietly.

"Are you seriously bringing Toshizou," Sunao barked, really hating the stupid pink elephant more and more each and every day. Sora hugged on to his plush toy, "I can't sleep without it and you know that," Sora responded. He nuzzled his face against the animal doll, "Isn't that right, Toshizou," he cooed.

Sunao just rolled his eyes, "You're a high school student," he pointed out, "Don't you think you're getting, perhaps, too old for it?" Sora shook his head, "Never too old for wanting a hug," he said.

"That was such a corny answer," he said.

"Well it's the truth," Sora argued, holding a small bag to his side and wrapped his Toshizou around the other. "Are you ready?"

Sunao nodded, lifting up his pillow and his bag. "I think so," he answered walking toward the door. Sora just stood there, doubting that something might go wrong with his lover. Perhaps he is worrying too much, but he can't help it; it's like it's become his second nature-always wondering if Sunao is okay.

"Hashiba," Sunao said, breaking Sora from his trance, "are you coming?"

"Hmm," Sora said, "Yeah." Both journeyed through the halls until they found the oh-so-familiar room. Sora knocked the door. "The door's open," Mira called out from the other side of the door. Sora opened the door and let Sunao entered first. "I love what you have done to the place, Tanaka," Sunao said, looking around the room. Mira was finishing cleaning up by making his bed.

There was a twin-sized bed to the side of the wall with dark blue sheets and matching pillows. Next to the bed, was a nightstand with a lamp, a small picture, and an alarm clock sitting there. He had a desk at the foot of his bed with a black laptop sitting there. Beside the closet was a set of dark wood drawers and shelf sitting on top with books and some DVD's placed in an orderly fashion. Posters were hung everywhere. They were mostly of posters of beautiful scenes from all over the world. "Thanks," he said as he gestured to allow his friends to make themselves comfortable. They placed their things next to the door along with another set of luggage, obviously Matsuri's. Sora was the first to ask the obvious question, "Where's Matsuri?"

"He said he would be right back," Mira answered, "He mentioned bringing a TV with some scary movies."

"Oh," Sunao said. Sora's eye caught something that caught his interests. He walked over to Mira's nightstand and held up the picture. It was a picture of two kids working on a sand castle on some beach, one was a girl and another was a boy wearing the same navy blue colored swimsuits. "Tanaka," he said, getting Mira's attention, "is this you as a kid?" Mira smiled, "Y-Yeah."

"Who's that with you," Sora asked, "You two look exactly the same. Well, except the gender, obviously."

"That's my twin sister, Rin," Mira explained.

"You never mentioned having a sister," Sunao said.

"I…" Mira started, but paused looking a bit uncomfortable, "I don't really like talking about it." Sora looked at him concern, thinking once again how he shouldn't have asked those kinds of questions. Sunao walked over, taking the picture from Sora, letting him see for himself who this twin was. Sunao's eyes popped open. Sora noticed how Sunao suddenly froze. "Fujimori," Sora whispered suddenly freezing himself when he noticed once again how Sunao's eyes changed colors again. "Is he ok," Mira asked. Before Sora could answer, they nearly freaked out when Sunao suddenly passed out. Sora was able to catch him before Sunao landed on the ground. "FUJIMORI," Sora panicked. "Put him on the bed, " Mira said, "I'm going to get some water. Sora did as he was told as Mira left to get some water. Just seconds after Mira left the room, Sunao stirred.

"Fujimori," Sora said, "Can you hear me?" Sunao opened his eyes, allowing the tears to seep through his still-red-eyes. "Hashiba," Sunao sobbed, "That…that was the girl…the girl I killed."

Sora's eyes widened. "What! A-Are you sure?" Sunao nodded. "That must be why I'm always seeing her through Tanaka…because they look so much the same."

"That would make sense," Sora agreed, not really sure what to say, this is all happening so fast.

Mira entered the room with a glass of water and damp cloth. He sighed in relief. "Oh thank goodness," he sighed, "you're awake. Are you ok, Fujimori?" Sunao sat up and nodded. "Hai," he mumbled. Mira handed him the glass of water. "Fujimori," Mira said, "Why are you crying?" He also noticed that his eyes were a different color too, but he figured his eyes just do that from time-to-time, like people with hazel-eyes. Sunao shook his head. "I'm not sure, exactly," he lied. There was no chance he was going to tell Mira about what happened to his sister.

Rin Tanaka-the name echoed in Sunao's mind. No longer does he have to refer her as that number Aizawa would call her. However, now he feels overshadowed with guilt. Here he is, living under the same roof as her brother, pretending he doesn't know anything about he death when in fact he had a major part in it.

Matsuri came in, having that large smile on his face as he rolled his TV in with cart. "Hi," he said. His smile faded when he noticed his pink haired friend sitting on Mira's bed, with everyone else around him, looking pale and staring at him with crimson eyes. His eyes shifted to Sora, "Is everything alright with _Nao,_" he asked, putting emphasis on his name, meaning he was really asking Sora if that was really Sunao and not Ran. Sora nodded, getting the hint. "Nao is fine," he explained, "just fainted."

"Good," Matsuri breathed. _

Sora, Sunao, Matsuri, and Mira's eyes were glued to the TV that they catty-cornered against the wall. Each one of them were already dressed in their pj's and were ready for bed, just spent almost the entire night watching the movies By the time the movie ended, Sora began laughing. "Awesome movie, Matsuri," he said, giving his friend props, "I was shaking like crazy." Mira huffed. Everyone turned to Mira, who had a bored expression on his face. "You didn't like it, Tanaka," Matsuri asked. He shrugged his shoulders, "It was ok," he said, "but Stephen King could write something scarier in his sleep."

"Who," Sunao asked. Mira stared at his friend in disbelief. Seeing to how all of them looked at him with that same baffled look, Mira dropped his jaw. But then he got an idea. He got a devious look on his face. "You guys really don't know who Stephen King is," Mira asked, began snickering. All of them shook their heads. Mira snickered, "Then let me introduce you to some of his work." Mira walked over to his shelf and pulled out a DVD from the top shelf. He waved the DVD in their faces. "The Shining," Sora said, reading the cover outloud, "That doesn't sound scary. It sounds like it's about a bunch of angels or something." Mira chuckled. "Trust me," he said as he popped in the DVD, "There are _NO_ angels in this movie."

Matsuri, Sora, and Sunao all watched, bundled up in their sleeping bags, all eyes widened out of fear. Mira couldn't help but laugh to himself as he watched his friends tremble. Sunao was clinging onto Sora, shivering. Sora held onto Toshizou, sharing it with Sunao. Even Matsuri was able to hold on to the plush toy. All of them nearly screamed when Jack Nicholson popped out of nowhere with an axe in his hands saying in a crazed tone, "HEEEERREEEE'S JOHNNY!" To someone who has already watched it, Mira found it more entertaining watching the look on his friends' faces. They could tell when something scary was about to come up, because Mira would glance over and just watched them. By the time the movie ended, Mira flickered on the lights, seeing that his friend's eyes were still glued to the screen, holding on to each other, shaking out of fear. "So how was it," he asked, even though he could tell just by looking at their faces. He giggled. "Would you call that scary," he asked. All of them nodded at the same time with their mouths still open after watching something so…disturbing.

"Do you still think it's about angels," he asked. All of them shook their heads. That really wasn't something they have ever seen before. "Do you wanna watch something else? I got other movies."

"Just…just nothing by Stephen King," Sora requested. The other two turned around and nodded their heads, agreeing with the same thing as Sora. Mira smiled. "I think I have exactly what you need." His eyes scanned through his small collection of DVD's. "How about a comedy," he suggests. All three of them nodded their heads again, really liking the sound of that. Mira popped in the first season of 'Scrubs' Japanese dubbed. ((A/N: I don't know if that really exists, but it was all I could think of when it comes to comedies that seemed like something they might watch…well to me I could see them watch it))

Everyone seemed to calm down from watching a few episodes of the sitcom. After a few hours, all of them fell asleep. Sunao and Sora combined their sleeping bags together. Matsuri and Mira were separate. Mira stayed up the longest. He was able to stay up long enough to wait for everyone to fall asleep, so he could turn off the lights and the TV. Mira made himself comfortable in his sleeping bag and was about to fall asleep until he heard someone stir. "I'm sorry," he heard Sunao mumbled in his sleep.

As the day passed by, Mira felt like he was really making some new friends. They spent the entire day, showing Mira all the fun things the town has to offer. It was like a day made just for them. Even Sunao felt joyful as they spent the day together. They visited museums, theaters, arcades, and parks. It's been a while since they were able to spend a day together.

Matsuri had every chance possible taking pictures. A lot of them were unexpected and out of nowhere. Sora almost smacked his blonde friend for taking pictures of him and Sunao kissing. Mira-standing the top of a hill and having a great view of the chase-had a chance to take a hold of Matsuri's camera and took pictures of Sora chasing Matsuri around. Sunao stood next to the small boy, laughing at the results of the pictures. "Now I understand the joys of photography," Mira said, laughing along with his pink haired friend. "Yeah," Sunao choked on his laughter.

"How is someone so happy all the time," Mira thought outloud. Sunao smirked. "Tanaka," he said with a mischievous grin on his face, "Could it be that you have feelings for Matsuri-chan?"

Mira stared at him baffled-like. "Feelings?"

"You know," Sunao explained, "like a crush."

Mira looked away, blushing intensely and didn't want Sunao to see because it would prove his point. He sat down and Sunao sat beside him, knowing that Mira was blushing. "What ever gave you that idea, Fujimori? We're friends. Just like you and me."

"Well, I noticed that you two seem to be getting close. You're always blushing when he is hugging you. You should ask him out."

Mira giggled. "Oh. I'm not interested in anything like that with someone right now. I mean, I like Matsuri…but I'm not ready for that kind of level of a relationship." Sunao smirked. "If you say so. I actually think you two would be good for each other"

Mira blushed a deeper red. "Fujimori…can I ask you a question?"

"What?"

"Have you…ever had a secret that you feared that Hashiba would reject you for?" Sunao was shocked when Mira asked such a question. He expected the question to be something about Matsuri's opinion about him or something of that. However, Sunao could tell that it wasn't directly referring to him, but more, Mira fearing that he would be rejected for a secret that he had.

The first thing that popped into Sunao's head was admitting that he killed a person. He was terrified that Sora would leave him for committing such a crime. "Yeah," Sunao sighed, looking down. "I did things I wasn't proud of in my past. However, Hashiba accepted me anyway. And believe me, it wasn't easy telling Hashiba my secret, I really was scared that Hashiba would be disgusted with me, but…he wasn't." Sunao looked up, smiling at Mira. "Matsuri is a very understanding guy. I'm pretty sure that he would accept you no matter what."

Mira returned the smile. "Thanks, Fujimori."

"Hey," Sora shouted from the bottom of the hill. "Shinichiro just called. He said if we're hungry, then we'd better be heading in that direction now."

"Shinichiro sensei," Mira questioned, "you all know him personally." Sunao nodded. "He and his partner, Nanami-sama, are real good friends of ours. They are really like big brothers to us."

"Oh," he said.

"Would you like to meet them," Sunao asked. "But I already know sensei."

"True," Sunao pointed out, "but he's really different outside the classroom, and Nanami's cooking is good, Sora's favorite food in the world. He is obsessed with it. You should be try it."

"Are you sure I wouldn't be interfering," Mira questioned. The last he wanted to do was stick his nose where he doesn't belong. "Matsuri is coming along with us, and we can't just leave you by yourself. It'll be fun." They stood up and headed down hill. "Well, as long as I'm not bothering you guys, I don't mind."

"Good," Sunao said, meeting up with the other two. Mira handed Matsuri his camera. "Tanaka'll be joining us for supper. So we don't have to stop by the school."

"Yay," Sora said, "That leaves just steps closer from Nanami's cooking." Sunao rolled his eyes. "See what I mean," he whispered to Mira. Mira giggled and nodded. "Nanami's cooking must be pretty good."

"Not good," Sora commented, "the best."

They arrived at Shinichiro and Nanami's apartment. Sora buzzed the intercom. "Hai," Nanami's voice answered the call. "We're ready," Sora said in a sing-along tone. You could hear Nanami laughing inwardly from the other end. "Come on up. The door's open." The main entrance's door slid open. The four of them walked in and took the elevator to the right level. "Will this thing hurry up," Sora barked, getting very impatient.

"It's going to be there when you get there," Sunao sighed, "Will you just calm down? And for pity's sake, stop drooling!"

"I never seen Hashiba-senpai so excited for anything like this before," Mira commented. Sora turned around, having a little twinkle in his eyes. "That's because you have never tried anything like Nanami's dinner," he groaned. "The steak, the mashed potatoes, the chicken, the veggies, the.." Sunao whacked him upside his head before he could continue on his rant about the food. "Calm down, Hashiba," Sunao said, "You're going crazy." Sora rubbed the new sore on his head.

"You didn't have to hit me," Sora growled.

"Then behave yourself," Sunao argued, his hands were on his hips.

"Stop bossing me around," Sora countered.

"Stop giving me a reason to yell at you!"

"Umm…guys," Mira called out shyly.

"You only boss me around because you like it."

"No, it's because your such an idiot."

"Guys," Mira tried again. "Once they start, they can't stop," Matsuri explained, they both step out of the elevator, watching the doors close right in front of their friends.

"Who are you calling an idiot?"

"The only idiot around here!"

_Buzz…Buzz_.

Sora reached into his pocket and pulled out the phone vibrating. "Hai," he answered.

"Let us know when you two are done arguing and we can eat, okay," Matsuri said on the other side, before hanging up. Sora and Sunao didn't realize the others had already exited. Sora sighed, "Guessed we got carried away, again."

"Yeah," Sunao agreed.

Everyone sat around a small table. Nanami and Shinichiro were on the ends, Sora and Sunao sat beside each other, as Matsuri and Mira sat by each other. "So Tanaka," Shinichiro said, starting off the conversations, "it's says your from the U.S. Did your entire family move down here?"

Mira shook her head. "No sir, I came here by myself. My parents are too caught up in their jobs to really have time to move."

"What do they do," Nanami asked.

"My father is an accountant and my mother is a lawyer."

"So who are you staying with down here?"

"Well, if it's necessary, I could go stay with my grandmother. She lives somewhere around here, but it have been so long."

"Are you an only child," Shinichiro asked. Sora cleared his throat, trying to signal that he shouldn't have asked that. Mira turned to Sora. "It's alright, Sora. I don't mind." He turned back to Shinichiro. "I use to have a twin sister, but she died not too long ago."

"Oh dear," Nanami gasped, "I'm so sorry. Shinichiro, you should keep your mouth shut."

"No it's ok," Mira said. "You all were simply curious. You didn't know."

"Would it be too much of a bother if I asked what happened," Shinichiro asked.

"Shinichiro," Nanami snapped.

"No…" Mira said, "I guess I could tell you. It's just…I haven't really spoken about it before." Everyone was dead silent when Mira was explaining his story. Sunao paid close attention to it, seeing what all does he know about his sister.

"When my sister, Rin, and I were about eight-years old, Rin had a terrible cough. My parent would wake up in the middle of the night, seeing her cough up blood. They wanted to take her to the hospital; however, they couldn't afford it at the time. They started contacting family members to see if they would pitch in. My grandmother was the one who recommended this doctor. She said that he wouldn't charge anything for it. My parents were real relived to hear that. My grandmother was even able to pay for the trip there. So Rin was gone for a few weeks, but she came back, things were different. She claimed that Dr. Aizawa was crazy and made her do horrific things." Everyone's eyes widened when they heard the name 'Aizawa.' Mira didn't notice it for he was looking down, trying to remember everything.

"Dr. Aizawa explained that there were a lot of procedures that may have made Rin felt uncomfortable, but didn't do anything that wasn't necessary. My parents believed him, but Rin insisted there was more to it. No one believed her and she never stopped. It was to an extent that Rin was considered crazy. By then, my mother was offered a job and was able to pay for the medical bills. My parents decided that they couldn't do anything about Rin's traumatized behavior, so she was sent to a behavioral correction facility. She spent years there. Sometime around last year, she was kidnapped. We searched and searched for a while until police found her in this abandoned building. According to the results of the autopsy, she was shot. There were bruises around her wrists, but there were no defense wounds or anything like that."

"Tanaka…" Shinichiro stated, "What all do you know about Dr. Aiz…"

"Shinichiro," Nanami barked, "No more questions!" Mira stood up, "Where's your restroom?" "Through our bedroom doors and take a left," Shinichiro stated. When Mira left, everyone was still silent. Nanami looked as though he was fighting tears. "Nanami," Sunao said, "Are you alright?"

Nanami shook his head. "I remember Mira's sister. She was called experiment 005. She was the first experiment tested on to humans. Before, we just tested lab rats. But when Aizawa came in with the little girl…we really didn't have a say in it. This was the beginning of our experiments on humans' fears. Rin had the fear of dying. Not only did we spend those weeks working on her cough, but on the experiments as well. She was a success. By the time she scheduled to be sent home, Rin was a huge success. However, we weren't finish with her yet. By the sounds of it, I'm guess that it was Aizawa who kidnapped her. But I wasn't working for him then, so I'm not sure what exactly happened before she died."

Sunao stayed silent. He knew exactly what happened since Nanami left. Sora reached over and held onto Sunao's hand without other people seeing. Sunao squeezed onto it. Knowing what it was killing Sunao, Sora didn't want Sunao to feel alone in the situation. Sunao didn't want to look up. Nanami also saw Sunao's depressed look on his face. He figured that there was something Sunao knew that everyone didn't. "I'm going to check on him," Matsuri said, breaking the silence.

He stood up and walked to the restroom. He knocked on the door gently. "Mira," he called. He pressed his ear against the door. "Are you ok?" Mira opened the door, causing Matsuri to lose balance, nearly landing on the small boy. Matsuri was able to catch himself, but was just inches away from Mira's lips from his own. Mira's face went red. "Matsuri?" Matsuri quickly took a few steps back. "Sorry," he said, "but are you ok?" He took a closer look at Mira's face.

Mira looked fine. His nose and eyes weren't red from crying; he didn't appear sad. "I'm fine," he answered, "I just needed a moment to myself."

"I see," Matsuri said, but before he could say more, Mira wrapped his arms around Matsuri's waist. "Thanks for caring, Matsuri-chan."

**Well, that's all I have for now. I hope it's not boring you all. I really, really hoped you all liked my 'Stephen King' moment with Sora and them. I remember watching the series as Gaku and Chris told those 'scary stories' and it popped to me, "How would they react to watching a Stephen King movie?' I thought it was funny and hoped ya'll like it too.**

**Rosie: You should have seen Renee when she first saw "The Shining."**

**Me: Rosie! Stop trying to embarrass me! Anyways, please keep reading. And don't forget to R&R. Be nice, though!**


	6. The Deep Dark Secret

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Sukisyo nor any of the characters in the following story …except for the very few that will be mentioning in this chapter and the ones yet to come, but you will find out about that later. : P**

**Note: I noticed in the first chapter that, when I'm describing Mira's features, it resembled a lot like Gaku. However, they do not look a like. I find Gaku's hair more of a navy color; Mira has a violet kind of color in his hair.**

**Rosie: Nice save.**

**Me: I wasn't dodging a bullet, just making sure that the reader doesn't mistaken Mira as another copy of Gaku.**

**Rosie: So the only difference is that they have different color hair?**

**Me: No! Mira's eyes' shape is different as well. And other things…**

**Rosie: Like how Mira has….**

**Me: *duct tapes Rosie's mouth* DON'T GIVE IT AWAY, YOU BAKA!**

**Chapter 6**

**The Deep Dark Secret**

Spring Break is now over with and everyone is sent back to school. Everyone was back together, and friends were reunited. And not just the flowers were blooming. The relationship between Mira and his friends were growing stronger.

Ever since Mira admitted his past to them, he felt more comfortable around his friends. There wasn't hesitation, anymore. However there was still blushing whenever Mira was surprised by Matsuri hugging him. Sunao and Sora would start snickering every time that would happen. Both of them knew that Mira likes Matsuri, but for some reason, he never made a move. Sure, he would return the hug every so often, but that was it.

Sunao and Sora were in the cafeteria, eating their lunch and talking to one another. "I wonder where Matsuri and Mira are," Sora said, pondering on the thought as he took a bite of his sushi. "Mira mentioned taking a shower," Sunao answered, reaching for the soy sauce.

"But we just got back from P.E.," Sora stated, "we shower then." Sunao shrugged his shoulder. "He said he doesn't like to shower with others around."

"So he's going to skip lunch to avoid showering with other guys?"

"I guess so," Sunao said.

"Speaking of Mira," Sora said, changing the subject, "How are feeling? I noticed you're able to talk to him alone. You even started calling him 'Mira' like the rest of us. Does that mean you're comfortable around him now?"

Sunao stopped eating and placed his chopsticks to the side. He looked down with a sad look on his face. "I like how Mira and I are friends," Sunao answered, "and he really is nice to me, but…I feel awful still. It's just been easier dealing with the guilt around him. He calls me his friend, when he should be calling a murderer. He probably would if he found out."

"Perhaps if he knew more about Aizawa…"

"That wouldn't matter," Sunao said, "Like he would believe it. You heard him Hashiba. When Rin claimed Aizawa was mistreating her, _no one _believed her. What makes you think that he would believe it now?"

Sora's eyes were locked on the smaller one. He really hates how this is eating Sunao up. "Fujimori…"

"HIIIII," Matsuri exclaimed. Both of them looked at their friend. He held a three little green paper bags in his hand. "What's in the bags," Sora asked, having a pretty good idea what it is. Matsuri smiled, "I can't tell you until _all_ members of the 'Do-It-All' team are present. Where's Mira-kun?" Sora smirked when Matsuri referred Mira as 'Mira-kun.' "Right here," someone from behind answered. They turned in the direction the voice was coming from, seeing Mira take a seat, next to Matsuri and across from the couple. "What'd I miss?" Matsuri smiled.

"You came in just in time. We're going to be a part of the Saint Patrick's Day School Festival." Sunao raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

"Oh nothing too big," Matsuri said. Sora rolled his eyes. "I'm not buying it," he retorted, "Usually everything you say is small isn't so small after all."

Matsuri shrugged his shoulders. "Well…what we are about to do isn't new to you two," he said, laughing nervously.

"What is it, Matsuri," Sora sighed.

"And we're getting paid fairly well," Matsuri added, avoiding answering Sora's questioned.

"What is it, Matsuri," Sora said again, not exactly letting him off the hook.

"Well," he said, "you remember you and Nao-kun dressing up in that school activity.

"I'M NOT WEARING THAT DRESS AGAIN," Sunao snapped. Matsuri shook his head. "Don't have to wear _those_ costumes," he answered, not really calming Sunao down. Sunao stared daggers at Matsuri. Mira tilted his head. "You had to wear a dress?"

Sunao sat down. "Don't ask," he growled.

"So what do we have to do," Sora asked for the third time. Matsuri reached in his bag and pulled out a green jacket and tossed it to Sora. "Same rules as last time," Matsuri explained, as he handed all three their costumes, "but just different costumes." Each one of them examined their costumes carefully. They were each handed an all-green outfit including a hat with a gold buckle on it. "Leprechauns," Mira concluded outloud. Sunao handed over his outfit. "I'm going on my break," he said, feeling glad that everyone made him take some time off from the 'Do-It-Alls.'

Matsuri sighed, "Awe, but you would look cute in this." Sunao growled under his breath. "I told you that you were lucky," Sora mumbled to Sunao.

"So this is what you do in the 'Do-It-Alls,'" Mira thought outloud again.

"Bet you wish you had second thoughts to joining," Sora said.

"Not really," Mira said, "It actually seems kinda fun."

"That's the spirit," Matsuri exclaimed, hugging the purpled hair boy. "He probably doesn't realize what exactly we're getting into," Sora commented, "And I'm guessing Nii-chan is making us do this, huh."

Matsuri nodded his head. "He wasn't all for it, at first," he explained, "but after I said we'll give thirty percent to the school, he couldn't refuse." Sora bowed his head in defeat, followed by a sigh.

"At least you'll be dressing according to your gender," Sunao said. Sora chuckled, remembering the memory of Sunao in that princess dress. "Yeah," he said with a wide grin on his face.

"So be at the stadium tomorrow morning at ten," Matsuri concluded.

* * *

Matsuri stood at the school's stadium, wearing a white long-sleeved shirt and a green, a green tie, a vest, and black pants. "Hello again," Matsuri said into the microphone, waving at the large crowd before him. The crowd went wild. "So are you ready to get started," he asked the crowd, really getting them excited for the event. The student body cheered Matsuri on. "Well then," he said, "allow me to introduce to the victims." He gestured the crowd to look toward the two, who just stepped onto the stage. Mira and Sora stood there, can't believe what is going on. Mira waved at the crowd awkwardly. "Never thought Matsuri could be so evil," he said through his nervous smile to Sora.

"That's Matsuri for you," Sora said, "always getting us into God-knows-what."

"INTRODUCING 'THE DO-IT-ALL'S' LEPRECHAUNS," Matsuri exclaimed, "MIRA TANAKA AND SORA HASIBA!" The crowd applauded and shouted for them. Both Mira and Sora were feeling two inches tall, like a real leprechauns. However, they weren't as proud to be wearing green, especially in front of their classmates. "Now, the rules haven't changed from last time. Whosoever catches either one of the leprechauns gets granted one favor from that leprechaun. However I made sure to fix this event up. This time they can't catch each other."

Sora bowed his head in defeat. "Dang it," he cursed, as everyone else seem to be going crazy over it. "Now everyone on my mark," Matsuri said, getting everyone's attention. Sora grabbed onto Mira's shoulder as he made their way off the stage. "Run," he shouted to Mira. Sora and Mira practically jumped out of their shoes when they heard Matsuri shouted "Go!" and they could hear the students stampeding from behind. Mira shrieked.

"This doesn't seem like fun anymore," Mira said.

"Told you so," Sora barked back. Both of them were able to get a good head start and managed to hide up a tree before any of them could see, watching the students run right by. Good thing they were wearing green. "So how long will this last," Mira whispered.

"As soon as one of us makes the wrong turn," Sora answered, hopping down from the tree. Mira followed right after. "However, we have friends looking after us," he said. "Follow me."

"Hey," someone from afar called out, "they're over here!" Sora and Mira could feel the ground shaking as the entire school charged toward them. "Oh crap," Sora said as they both started to run for their lives.

"Maybe if we split-up we can have a better chance of losing the ones that are following us," Mira suggested, panting. Sora nodded. "It's worth a shot," he answered, Ok on three we split. One…two…three!" Both ran in opposite directions, as did half of the crowd. Both of the 'leprechauns' were running toward the other ends of the school. Sora was heading toward the dormitory as Mira was running toward the school. Both were able to outrun the students enough to make it into the buildings and lost a few as they ran passed a few hallways. Sora raced upstairs, hoping that his plan would work.

Sunao was in his room, reading through the chapter his social studies class was going through, sitting in his desk. He really wasn't reading to study. He already excelled in his exams. He was really reading it simply out of pure boredom, but as he would sometimes think in his head, that he'd rather be doing this than be in Sora's or Mira's shoes right about now.

_KNOCK KNOCK._

"Hashiba isn't hiding in here," Sunao barked, "Go away."

"Fujimori, it's me. Open up!" Sunao didn't rush to the door. He leaned up against it, grinning to himself. "What's the password," he said in a sing-along tune. Sora froze. Was he kidding? "Are you serious?"

"Nope," Sunao said in the same tone, "That's not the password. Try again." Sora freaked out. He started to try to turn the knob, hoping that Sunao didn't lock the door. The luck of the Irish wasn't on Sora's side today. "Oh come on," he shouted, still turning the door, "this is serious!"

Sunao sighed, "I told you that I'd get you back for not helping me pack."

"…"

"Soooo," Sunao said, "What's the password?" Sora could hear someone running up the stairs. He freaked and was at the end of Sunao's mercy.

"BANANA!"

"Nope."

"SORA IS A BAKA!"

"He is, but nope."

"SUNAO IS THE GREATEST LOVER EVER AND IS SUPER CUTE!"

Sunao giggled. "Nope, but I'm flattered."

"PINK?"

"Nope."

"OH COME ON FUJIMORI! THEY'RE COMING! I'M SORRY FOR NOT BEING ON TIME. IT WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN. PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE OPEN THE DOOR!"

"That's a long password," Sunao said, feigning an innocent tone.

"FUJIMORI!" Sora was getting tired of this. He saw three boys at the end of the hall. Sora's eyes popped open. "There he is," one of the boys said, all three of them running toward the blue eyed teen. Sora ran for it, "You're so not being cute, Fujimori," Sora called out as he ran down the halls. Sunao smirked, really feeling satisfied for everything. He made his way back to his desk and returned to his 'studies'. He sighed to himself. "I thought he would guess Toshizou," he smirked, feeling so evil for leaving Sora like that but it was too funny to feel guilty about.

Sora was left stranded. He didn't know where to go now. He figured that he could just hide away in his room or get Sunao to 'catch' him, but no. Sunao had to go and pull that little stunt off. Oh, was he going to get revenge on Sunao for that one, even if Sunao was getting revenge himself.

He lost the guys going down stairs and making a sharp turn, hiding in the first room that he saw. He found that he made it all the way to the main building, and was now in Nanami's office. Nanami stared at Sora with a confused expression on his face. "Hashiba-kun," he said, examining Sora's 'outfit' from top to bottom, "What on Earth?"

Sora got on his knees. He looked up to Nanami with a pleading look, eyes tearing up with crocodile tears. "Please Nanami," he begged, "let me hide in here for the time being. I have nowhere else to go? Please!" Nanami chuckled. "I don't mind," he answered, smiling at the younger one. Sora leaped from the floor and shouted, "Yay!" He wrapped his arms around the nurse murmuring a bunch of 'Thank you's'

"So I'm guessing that the Do-It-Alls are at it again," Nanami guessed. Sora nodded. That's when it popped in his head. "I wonder how Mira is doing?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He texted to his most-recent friend _"We can hide in Nanami's room if you want." _It wasn't long before he received a text.

"_Sunao is hiding me in your room. Surprised you're not here."_ Sora didn't respond immediately. He stared at the phone with a dumbfounded look on his face, when he was really screaming as loud as he could in his head. He texted back an 'ok' and began texting a certain pink-haired boy. _"That's low; even for you." _Within seconds, he got a text message. _"I love you, too. But I got an idea. You won't have to hide much longer." _Sora pondered on the text message he received. What was he planning? Sora was about to put his phone in his pocket until it started ringing. The caller ID said "Matsuri."

"Hai," he said.

"We have a winner," Matsuri said. Sora's eyes widened. "Who?"

* * *

Sora returned to the stadium. What he found was believable-Mira getting caught. He knew that much. However, seeing who caught him was much more shocking.

The entire student body was back, and as mad as ever for not being able to catch either of the leprechauns. They grimaced as Sunao Fujimori waved to crowd, with his hand holding onto Mira's sleeve. "So Sunao Fujimori," Matsuri said, "you have won one favor. What is it?" Sunao walked over to his blonde friend, pulling him down until he was able to whisper into his ear. What ever it was, it made Matsuri blush. He froze for a minute before returning his attention to the crowd. "Well that's all from the 'Do-It-All' team. Thank you for coming." Everyone booed to Matsuri. They wanted to know what the favor was, but they were left hanging instead. The curtain fell in front of the four teens, hiding them from all students. "So what does Mira have to do," Sora asked. Sunao giggled. Mira looked to Matsuri, who was still looking toward his audience, with a blush still on his face. He tilted his head. "Matsuri," Mira called out, a little concern for his friend.

Matsuri took a deep breath and walked toward the purple eyed boy. "Mira," he started, but there was a big pause. "Would you like to go out on a date with me?" Mira went as red as an apple. He looked down to the ground, away from the blonde. "I…" Mira began to answer. Sora and Sunao stood aside, feeling really happy that their friends have found a love interest in their life. "I…I can't." Everyone was shocked by his answer.

Mira looked up to the blonde, staring deeply into his green eyes, getting teary. "I really do like you, Matsuri-chan. However, there's so much holding me back. I can't deceive you like that. I'm so sorry." No one had a chance to say anything. Before it was said and done, Mira was gone. He ran away as fast as he could. Sora and Sunao looked over to friend, who was still standing the way he was before, just shocked now. "Matsuri," Sunao called out softly.

Matsuri looked down. "I guess I asked too much," he said, sounding nothing like Matsuri Honjou. Matsuri always sounded cheerful and was always smiling, but not this time. He looked…lost, and wasn't smiling. It was ere like for his friends to see him that way.

* * *

It was April 1st, the day after the Saint Patrick's Day festival. It was really quiet at the table. Only three of them were at the table this time. Sunao and Matsuri didn't say much-both feeling extremely guilty for making their friend cry and run away. Sunao felt so bad. He believed he was helping Mira by requesting the favor to be Matsuri and Mira going out on a date. He didn't see any harm to it, but there was.

"_I mean, I like Matsuri…but I'm not ready for that kind of level of a relationship." _He remembered Mira saying that, but thought it was just Mira being shy. Then it clicked to him. The secret.

"_Fujimori…can I ask you a question?"_

"_What?"_

"_Have you…ever had a secret that you feared that Hashiba would reject you for?" _Sunao felt so stupid. He remembers now that Mira asking him that, realizing that this secret of his must be why Mira refused Matsuri. Could it be that Mira was scared that Matsuri would really reject him if he knew this secret. Was it really that bad for feeling that someone who cared about would push you away for?

Sora watched his friends staring blankly at the ground, looking really depressed. He couldn't understand it either. He knew Mira liked Matsuri, and judging by how Matsuri is acting, Matsuri liked Mira. So what happened yesterday? He felt like he had to know, maybe he could help. He stood up. "I'll be back," he said, heading his way out until he heard Sunao calling after him. He turned, seeing that distressed look in those sad pink eyes-Sunao knew what Sora was up to. Sora offered a smile. "It'll be ok. Just wait." Sunao nodded, didn't really have it in him to protest.

Sora now was at the dormitory, standing in front of the dorm of Mira Tanaka. He knock lightly on the door.

"Who is it," Mira said.

"It's me, Mira," Sora said, sounding very serious.

"I just got a shower," he said, "Could you come back later?"

"It's about yesterday," Sora said, "I really need to talk to you." There was a long pause before Mira answered. "Ok," he said, "Just let me cover up, first." Sora was already walking in when Mira said, "Ok."

"It's not like I'm seeing anything new," he said, not really caring that Mira was naked. He didn't even look at first as he entered, but when he did, his jaw dropped. There stood his friend, Mira Tanaka, trying to put on a robe to cover his body, but froze as Sora walked in, revealing everything to Sora. Mira was exposed. Now Sora understands why Mira rejected him. Answers were revealed, but new questions arose.

**Me: Well? A bit piled up. I know, but it still works. I hope you liked it.**

**Rosie: *tears off duct tape* Ow! That hurts! But ya! Cliffhangers! And I know what happens, so ha-ha readers.**

**Me: Only because you're in my head. You even know how it ends.**

**Rosie: Yep. ^-^**


	7. Mira's Motives

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Sukisyo nor any of the characters in the following story …except for the very few that will be mentioning in this chapter and the ones yet to come, but you will find out about that later. : P**

**Rosie: Yeah. Yeah.**

**Me: *chuckles* You really hate it when I repeat my disclaimer, huh? Come on! It's necessary!**

**Rosie: Not the smiley. *shivers* I feel like it's staring at me!**

**Me…You're serious?**

**Rosie: *growls* Shut up! Just get on with the story!**

**Me…but this is funny.**

**Rosie: I could always tell them your little secrets instead.**

**Me…ON TO THE STORY!**

**Rosie: That's what I thought.**

**Chapter 7**

**Mira's Motives**

_He didn't even look at first as he entered, but when he did, his jaw dropped. There stood his friend, Mira Tanaka, trying to put on a robe to cover his body, but froze as Sora walked in, revealing everything to Sora. Mira was exposed. Now Sora understands why Mira rejected him. Answers were revealed, but new questions arose._

"M-Mira?" Sora was shocked. No, not shocked. That would be an understatement. Mira was exposed to Sora. It wasn't the fact that Sora could see Mira's naked form that surprised Sora. It was what was missing.

Mira had a robe over 'his' front side, covering up all that was just revealed to Sora. Mira could feel the heat rushing to 'his' face. "S-Sora…" Sora looked away, blushing as well. "Please cover up," he said. Mira did as Sora said and proceeding putting on the robe. "Ok," Mira said, signaling that Mira was done and it was safe for Sora to look.

"What was that," Sora questioned, surprised he isn't running away, pointing to Mira.

"You've never seen a woman's body, have you," Mira said.

"That's not the point," he barked. "Mira, you're a girl."

"Yes," Mira agreed. Mira certainly couldn't deny it.

"And you're at a boy's academy?"

"Yes." Once again, Mira couldn't deny it.

"So was everything you ever told us a lie! Were you just fooling around with us?"

"I never lied anything about myself," Mira countered, "Aside from my name and gender, I never lied to any of you guys."

Sora raised an eyebrow. "So if Mira Tanaka isn't your name, then what is?" Mira reached over to the nightstand and took a hold of the picture sitting there and handed it to Sora. Sora looked at the picture. It was the one he saw when he slept over at Mira's room that night-the one with the twins playing at the beach. It clicked to him.

"You're...Rin Tanaka."

"That's right," Rin said, sitting down on her bed. Sora sat down on a chair close by and placed it in front of her, maybe two feet away from her.

"So what are you doing at boy's academy, claiming to be someone you're not?" Rin took a hold of the picture and placed it back on the nightstand. "Please tell me."

"I'm hiding," she answered, closing her eyes tightly. Sora looked even more confused. "From whom?"

"Everyone I once knew," she said.

"But you said that Rin was dead," he pointed out. "How can that be when you're standing here in the flesh?" That when something clicked to him that made him more confused_._

_/Flashback/_

"_Fujimori," Sora said, "Can you hear me?" Sunao opened his eyes, allowing the tears to seep through his still-red-eyes. "Hashiba," Sunao sobbed, "That…that was the girl…the girl I killed."_

_Sora's eyes widened. "What! A-Are you sure?" Sunao nodded. "That must be why I'm always seeing her through Tanaka…because they look so much the same."_

/_End Flashback/_

_/Another Flashback/_

"_According to the results of the autopsy, she was shot. There were bruises around her wrists, but there were no defense wounds or anything like that."_

_/End Flashback/_

Sora felt a slight ache in his head. This was really confusing. If Sunao killed Rin Tanaka, how is she still here? That's when something else clicked to him. If this is Rin, where is the real Mira? "Who is buried in Rin's grave, then?"

Rin bit her bottom lip. She hugged her knees to her chest, resting her chin against it. "Mira Tanaka," she said with hesitation, "the real Mira Tanaka, my brother."

"You two switched," he asked, not believing this. She nodded slowly. "So who was it that was sent to the asylum? When did you switch? Why did you switch?"

"I was the one sent to the asylum," she answered. Rin held onto herself tighter, like a girl would if she would have a hold of a teddy bear after going through a breakup. She then began explaining Sora everything, admitting everything about 'the switch.'

_/Flashback/_

_Almost a year ago, Rin was a patient at the mental institute. She has spent almost eight lonely years there. She would usually spend the day, watching out her window, looking up in the clouds. No one in her family would visit her. Her parents felt terrible for having to leave her there and her brother was never old enough to be with his sister without a parent there. To her, it was like they were all gone…dead even. Just as Aizawa said those many years ago._

_/Flashback in the Flashback/_

_Aizawa had a knife against her throat, her life in his hands. "Stop me," he commanded. The little girl would cry. "Please let me go. I just wanna go home."_

"_No one is home," he whispered, "Mommy or Daddy isn't going to save you. They can't save you from everything. At one point, everyone that promised your protection would be gone. What will you do then? Fight me." Tears streamed down her cheeks. Aizawa would repeat that over and over to her during her experiments. _

_Aizawa concluded that Rin was not only afraid of death, but to be alone. He figured that he could use one fear to overcome the other. So far, it was successful. _

_She pushed Aizawa's arm upward, making the arm fly up and the knife flying out of his hand. She managed to wiggle out of his hold on her and got a quick hold to the knife and pointed it to Aizawa. Aizawa smiled and clapped. "Well done, Tanaka," he said._

_/End that flashback/_

_Her train of thought was broken when someone knocked on the door. She never answered, for they will just walk in anyway. So she found saying anything was pointless. She looked up and saw a nurse leaning against the door. Rin looked back to window. "Is it time for my medicine already," she asked. The nurse shook her head. Rin found it ere of her to have a smile on her face. Did she take pleasure in this?_

"_Actually deary," she said, "you have a visitor."_

_She tilted her head. "A visitor?"_

_The nurse nodded her head. "Come with me, sweetie and we'll take you to the visiting room." Rin rolled her eyes. She hating going from room to room. All the rooms looked the same. They were all white and had one piece of furniture in it. She got off her bed and did exactly what the nurse said and followed her. _

_Rin walked into visiting room, seeing someone sitting on the couch in there. When the door opened, the visitor looked up. It was Mira Tanaka. He stood and gave his twin a hug. "Rin," he said, close to tears. She didn't return the hug. She never really understood who this visitor was. "Who are you," she asked. Mira pulled back from his hug. "Rin," he said again, "It's me." She stared at him, confused about all this. "_

"_Rin…have you forgotten me," Mira asked, "It's me, Rin. Mira…your brother."_

_Rin shook her head. "No you're not," she argued, he eyes becoming lifeless as she explained; "I have no one." Mira's eyes popped open. "That's not true, Rin. I'm here for you. You have me. Say my name, Rin. Remember who I am." Rin stared at him dazed. There was no way this was her brother. Mira was a little boy the last time she saw him. This couldn't be him. Time passes, she guessed and this is that little boy._

"_M-Mira," she said hesitantly. He smiled. "That's right. Say it again."_

"_Mira," she said again, not stuttering as much. Her eyes returned to that sparkle from earlier. She quickly rushed to the young man and hugged him tightly. "MIRA," she cried out, feeling so happy to be in his arms again. The nurse left the room, feeling that this was now a private conversation, and waited outside the door._

_Mira hugged his little sister again. Once again, he was the protector and Rin was the innocent victim. "Rin," he cooed as she cried into his yellow shirt, gripping onto the white and red jacket that he wore over it, stroking her long dark purple hair. "Oni-chan," she sobbed. "I…I thought I'd never see you again."_

"_I'm here now, Rin," he said, "and I'm going to make everything right for you, Rin." He reached up and grabbed onto his cap that he was wearing and took it off, letting is long hair fall from that bundle he arranged. Rin giggled at the sight. "Oni-chan, your hair is as long as mine."_

"_Yeah," he said, "I was hoping so."_

"_Why?"_

_He breathed, "Rin. I'm getting you out of here." Her eyes widened. "W-what? How? Mother and Father are the only ones who have a say in all this. And then the doctors have to confi…" she was interrupted when her bothered placed his finger over her lips. _

"_They aren't going to stop me, Rin. Quick," he said as he began to strip, "trade clothes with me."_

"_But why," she questioned. None of it was making sense._

"_Quickly, Rin," he said, "before the nurse comes back." She didn't understand, however she did what he said and stripped as well. She handed him her gown and began to dress herself in his clothes. She looked over to her brother, who was now wearing her gown and had it tied up in the back. "What are we doing," she asked. He walked over to her and began to mess with her hair. He was able to put it in the same bundle he had his hair and topped it with his cap, making sure it stays. He stepped back, he smiled at his work. "This is actually going to work," he said, really liking what he was seeing. _

_Rin was still confused. "What is," she asked as he pulled his hair in a messy pony-tail. They both sat down in the couch. He then explained. _

"_You're going to leave this hell, Rin. After today, you'll never see this place again. You'll be far away from it, living the happy life you should have lived, but never had the chance. I'm going to give you that chance, Rin. When you exit this place, make sure you get the backpack that is in the locker 153 in the waiting room. The key is in the pocket. You'll find money for a cab. Tell the driver to take you to the airport. The plane ticket is in the bag, and everything that you'll need has been already sent to Japan."_

"_Japan," she asked. Mira nodded. "I was able to transfer to an academy there. The plane leaves today, but I'm not going," he says. "You're going, Rin."_

"_Mira," she said softly, "I don't get any of this."_

"_Rin," he said, "We're going to switch. From this day on, you'll be Mira Tanaka. This is your chance, Rin. This is the chance to go to school, make friends, fall in love, everything. I'm giving you the opportunity." Rin finally understood what he meant. She quickly shook her head. "I'm not letting you stay here," she retorted. Mira smiled. _

"_I'm not letting you back down from this. This way, we can be together. The doctors will see this miraculous change in Rin Tanaka, decide to let her go, and then we can move one last time." Rin was lost again._

"_I bought plane tickets," he said, "it'll expire in two years. More time than what we need. I put it in your bag. When I'm out, I'll send you a letter, and you send me the ticket. I'll take the plane and see you again. We'll take the first bus and start a new life."_

_Rin laughed, "You're way over your head," she said. He took a hold of his hands. "Just trust me," he said. "Please, Rin." she stared into his eyes. He wasn't joking. He really must've planned this a while ago in order to afford everything. _

_The nurse knocked on the door. "Visiting hours are over," she said, "we have to reserve this room for another family coming in." Rin's eyes popped open. "Wait! No," she said, she still didn't understand. Mira hugged onto Rin. He kissed her cheek and whispered into her ear "Promise me one thing…" she looked up to him, her way of saying that she was listening. "Promise me that no matter what happened in the past, that it will not stop you from having a bright and happy future." She stared. What was going on? Is she drugged up? Does she really have the heart to leave her brother here? However, she always trusted in his word. Mira never lied to her and never let her down. This was no different. She had to trust in Mira again. She smiled. "I promise," she said, giving her 'sister' one last hug before she left. "Thank you," she said._

_/End Flashback/_

"Mira was the only who believed me," Rin said, her thoughts drifting into more of what is going on right now rather than months ago. She began to start sobbing. "When he went missing, I figured that he escaped and found another way to find me, but weeks later. They found him in that lab. Lucky for us, my parents were too caught up in work to fly here to identify their daughter. So I was left to identify him. I felt so bad, too. The things I had to say to explain 'Rin's' umm...you know what. It took a lot of lying, but they finally bought it, so Mira was buried as 'Rin'." Sora just sat there, sinking everything that he was told. 'So that means that Sunao must've killed Mira posing as Rin,' he thought to himself.

"Sora…" she said. His eyes shifted to her. "I know lovers aren't suppose to keep secrets with each other, but…will you promise that you won't tell Sunao about this…or Matsuri, at that matter."

"Is this why you refused Matsuri," Sora asked. She nodded her head. "I feel like I'd be lying to him if I got that close to him, and him not knowing the truth. He isn't mad at me for running, is he?" Sora shook his head.

"He and Fujimori are both very concern about you," he answered, making Rin sighed, "I wish they didn't worry that much about me. It makes me feel bad that I'm lying to them…to you before you walked in on me."

"You're our friend, Rin," Sora said, "We don't care if you're a guy or not. Matsuri doesn't like you for your manhood; he likes you for your personality. We accept the person." She smiled, "Thanks, Sora, but please promise me that you won't tell them."

Sora looked at her, really unsure about this. The last thing he would ever want to do is keep a secret from Sunao. It didn't feel right lying to him. But he agreed, anyway. "I don't like this at all," he said, "but I won't mention what happened today."

"Good," she breathed.

"But what am I suppose to tell them," Sora asked.

"I guess that we spoke about what happened yesterday and I'm sorry about it. Cause it is true," she said.

"Ok," he said, "but can I ask you a question."

"What more could you possibly want to know," she asked.

"How do you hide you," he pointed to her breasts, but didn't want to say it. She quickly got what he was referring to. "There's this kind of bonding tape that I wear," she explained. "And a sport's bra does the trick, too."

"A what?"

"…Do you know anything about girls?"

* * *

**Rosie: *gets teary* That's so sad.**

**Me: You knew this was going to happen.**

**Rosie: But that was a thought bubble….reading it was different.**

**Me: *hugs* awww.**

**Rosie: Don't hug me.**

**Me: It's 12:45 A.M. people…I'm going to hit the hay since I finished this chapter. Thanks for reading! Please R&R. **


	8. Small World

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Sukisyo or any of the characters in the following story …except for the very few that will be mentioning in this chapter and the ones yet to come, but you will find out about that later…:P**

**Rosie: Oh, ha-ha. You're so funny.**

**Me: I thought so. XD**

**Rosie: On with the story, Renee.**

**Me: Ok. Ok.**

**Note: I know Mira is really Rin and Rin is a girl, but I'm still using the pronouns 'he and him.' This is because that overall, most of everyone believes that Rin is Mira, so try not to get confused.**

**Another thing: Please don't be singing 'It's a small world after all' as a review, just because the chapter is called "Small World"**

**Rosie: *begins humming the song***

**Me: *sighs* Very cute Rosie.**

**Chapter 8**

**Small World**

Sora walked in to his dorm. It was late. The sun has set, and the sky was dark. The room was dark as well, except for the candle light found on the nightstand. Sora saw Sunao, lying in his bed with a peaceful look on his face as he slept.

He walked toward the nightstand and blew out the candle. He turned his attention to his lover. He shook Sunao gently. "Fujimori," he cooed, as Sunao woke up, seeing only bits of Sora from the moonlight. "Hashiba," he answered, "What took you so long? Is Mira okay?" Sora cringed. He didn't want to lie to Sunao, of all people, but wasn't going back on his promise. He figured, at some point, he'll get Rin to confess to rest of them.

"Mira is fine," he said.

"Why did he reject Matsuri, then?"

"Because he doesn't want to lie to Matsuri," he answered. Sunao nodded. "I remember him saying that. I also remember Mira asking me about holding back from secrets to your loved ones. I'm guessing Mira has a secret that he is scared to reveal to us."

'_I could see why,' _Sora thought to himself, remembering how he walked in on the girl, completely exposed for him to see. It was…faint worthy. "I'm not going to lie to you," Sora said, "I know Mira's secret; however, I'm going to let him tell you. But just don't expect him to tell you guys in the morning. It's hard."

"I see," Sunao said, wondering about the secret. "Hashiba, does it have anything to do with Rin's death?" Sora shook his head. "It revolves around everything we know about Mira and Rin," he said.

"Why won't you tell me?"

"Because he made me promise not to tell you…and also, it isn't in my place to say. It'd be easier for us all if Mira told you two." Sunao didn't like what he was hearing. He doesn't like it when Sora keeps a secret from him. However, he acknowledges that Sora has his reason for not telling him and is going to respect it, even if it bothering him. He smiled to Sora. "Ok," he said, "I'll wait for Mira to tell us. But what are we going to do about Matsuri? Don't you think it's going to be a little awkward to keep Matsuri in the shadows?"

"I'm going to try to get Mira to tell you both. Such as their 'love life,' we're going to have to put a hold on that."

Sunao sighed, "Poor Matsuri…poor Mira. It's kind of sad. They both like each other, but they can't express their feelings because of a secret. Because both are scared of the other's rejection."

"Yeah…I know. But, just trust me with this one. Let's just say there's more to Mira than we know."

"hmm?"

"Never mind. I'm going to go asleep. You should, too." He bent over and kissed Sunao on the forehead before lying down in his bed.

_Knock. Knock._

"Hashiba," Sunao groaned, "will you get that?"

Sora groaned as well. "You're closer," he said.

"But I wasn't in bed last," he countered. Sora shrugged his shoulders. "Alright," he sighed, rolling out of bed. This had better be important. He opened the door and didn't recognize the visitor. It was dark and everything was covered by some article of clothing. The stranger was wearing a long coat that reached down to his knees. His face was engulfed by shadows from the hat he was wearing. Sora stared at him with droopy eyes. "Can I help y…" Before Sora could even finish, the man sprayed Sora in the face some sort of gas. Sora was too late and inhaled the fumes.

He began to feel even sleepier. His body was feeling numb and had no way of stopping himself from falling on his knees. Sunao was still in bed. He wasn't listening at first, but when he heard a loud thump; it caught his attention. He sat up in his bed and found Sora on the ground. "Hashiba," Sunao called out frantically. He rustled out of bed and rushed to Sora. He sat down on his knees and lifted his upper half, seeing that Sora was unconscious. "Hashiba," he called out again, this time with more fear in the sound of his voice, hoping that Sora would wake up now. But he didn't. Sunao let Sora's head rest against his lap. His eyes shifted to the strangers. Sunao couldn't recognize the stranger either. "What do you want from us," he cried out.

The man took a step in the room, now just standing inches away from the couple. Sunao froze. He didn't know what to do. The man bent down and sprayed the same gas into Sunao's face. As Sunao inhaled the gas, he felt his eyes became heavier. His body had no feeling whatsoever. It was to a point that he couldn't even hold himself up. He collapsed on top of his lover as fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

"Hashiba," someone called out Sora's name. He could hear it, but he didn't have the control over his body to respond. He tried opening his eyes, but it was just too hard. "Hashiba, please wake up!" The voice didn't sound as distant this time. It also sounded very frightened. In a way, it sounded like the voice needed Sora. If only he found the strength in him to comfort the owner of this frantic yet angelic voice.

"**Open your eyes,"** a low, masculine, and booming voice echoed in his head. Sora recognized the voice. "Yo…Yoru," Sora said weakly in his thoughts. So he guessed they were wrong; the alternate-personalities are still there and haven't left.

"**Open your eyes,"** the voice said again. "I can't," he screamed in his thoughts, "I don't have the strength, Yoru. Help."

"**I'm not Yoru, but only a memory. You do have the strength, just unleash it, Sora." **Sora shook his head. "I don't understand," he said.

"**There isn't anything holding you back. You're stronger than this. Fight it."**

"Fight what?"

"Hashiba," the voice from outside his head called out again. He was feeling suddenly salvaged. He could feel the blood pumping through his veins; he was getting stronger. Now if he could just…

He opened his eyes, but it didn't make much of a difference. For once thing, he had no idea where he was. It surely wasn't his dorm. There was a dull glowing above. He looked up, only to see that it was some cheap light that you would find in a school building. It was high up. So where ever he was, it was big. "Hashiba," the voice from before called out again. He turned his head in the direction the voice was coming from. To his left, he found Sunao.

Sunao was sitting down not too far away, sitting up against a very thin metal pole. His arms were bonded behind his back with rope. "Fujimori," Sora called out, trying to get up, but couldn't. He felt his arms behind as well. When he sat up, his binding pulled him hard back down. He glanced over his shoulders, seeing that he was tied up. He attempted to pull his arms apart, breaking the rope, but it was a tight knot. He gave up after a minute or so. "Damn it," he cursed under his breath.

"Hashiba," Sunao said, "What's going on?" Sora growled. "I don't know. But are you alright?" Sunao nodded. "As fine as we could be in this situation, I suppose." Sora scooted his body, now able to touch his waist. He felt in his pocket, but couldn't find what he was looking for.

"Fujimori," he said in a serious tone yet urgently, "Do you have your phone?" Sunao shook his head. "I'm guessing you don't have your's?"

"I think that guy must've taken it," Sora guessed, now wondering what became of him. Sora tried looking around, seeing if he could figure out their location.

It was a huge building. Neither one of them could see the ends of it, because it was just so large. There were poles placed in the most random places. As if it was some sort of warehouse, and judging by the looks of it, it's old and it's abandoned.

They heard some groaning not far from then. It was closer to Sunao than Sora so he had a better chance on seeing who it was. Their eyes weren't adapted to the darkness yet, so he really couldn't see. So Sunao did the only thing he could've thought to do.

"Hello," he called out faintly. "Is anyone over there."

"Urghhh," the mysterious other groaned. "Sunao? Is that you?

The sound of the other's voice sounded familiar, but just couldn't place a name with the voice. This person apparently knew Sunao. Just as Sunao was about to ask for a name, they heard a door creak open and slammed shut. All the lights throughout the room were on and blinded the two teens. They sealed their eyes shut to how irritated their eyes felt. Sora was the first to open his eyes, seeing everything now, including the person who just walked in. The same person who caused his heart to race out of his chest. His eyes were popped open. He choked on his the air he breathed in.

"Ai..zawa," he breathed. It was him, but he looked different. Half of his face was burnt. There were fresh scars all over his face. He looked like a monster.

He smirked, "It's been a while, hasn't it Sora Hashiba? Sunao Fujimori? Rin Tanaka?

"Tanaka," Fujimori gasped. Aizawa stepped to the side, revealing his other hostage, the mysterious other from before. Rin's head was bowed down, he wasn't in tune with everything yet. "Rin," Sora shouted, "Can you hear us?" Sunao's eyes widened and he looked to Sora, "Rin? Don't you mean Mira?"

Aizawa chuckled, sending goose bumps to everyone in there. "So that's how she's been hiding. Sort of selfish, if you think about it." He walked over to Rin. He lifted her chin up. Her eyes were dazed, she was still under the gases affects. "You just had a quick get away, but in exchanged, you let your brother die. How inconsiderate of a sister, you are." Tears began to fall from her eyes. She looked down, away from Aizawa. She wasn't going to deny anything. That's how she thought of it.

"Leave her alone, Aizawa," Sora barked, defending his friend.

"You knew he was…a she," Sunao questioned. Sora nodded, feeling slightly guilty for not telling Sunao, but like he said before, that he was going to let Rin tell them.

"I'm…sorry…Sunao," she said very faintly. "I'm sorry I got you all caught into this mess. I never intended for this to happen."

"So she doesn't know about our connections," Aizawa said with a smile on his face. He turned to pinkette. "Of course, _you_ wouldn't have mentioned anything, because it would lead to what you did."

"AIZAWA," Sora shouted, wishing he would just shut up and stop brainwashing everyone. He could see it was already taking affect on Sunao. Sunao looked back to Aizawa, looking ashamed. Sunao's eyes would shift back from Aizawa to Rin.

Sunao felt so confused. He knew that he killed Rin Tanaka. But how is it that Rin is here. He thought about what Aizawa just said earlier to the girl. _"You just had a quick get away, but in exchanged, you let your brother die. How inconsiderate of a sister, you are." _Sunao's eyes widened again. He understood now what was going on, what happened back then. He didn't kill Rin Tanaka…but Mira. But some things didn't click. Did Aizawa know about them?

"You guys knew Aizawa," Rin asked, acting a little more aware of her surroundings. "Tanaka," Aizawa said, "This is experiments 013 and 014. They came after you did those many years ago. Well you would have been able to meet 014 not too terribly long ago. Isn't that right, Fujimori?"

"Sunao," she said, sounding frightened, "What is he talking about?"

"But your brother had the honor of meeting my former apprentice. Of course the acquaintance didn't last very long."

"Apprentice," Rin questioned. "Wait, Sunao…you knew my brother? How?"

"He was there when your brother died," Aizawa answered for Sunao. Rin gasped. She couldn't believe this. It truly was a small world.

"Sunao," she called out more urgently, "Is this true?"

All eyes were locked on Sunao. At some point, he knew he had to tell Rin. He was hoping it didn't have to be like this. "It's true," he said. He looked back to Rin, who looked absolutely horrified and disgusted. "Why didn't you tell me," she asked.

"Because of his connection with your brother's murder," Aizawa said. "Go ahead Sunao. Tell her. Who was the one who ended Mira Tanaka's life? Who was the one responsible for his death?" Rin's eyes widened. She understood where this is going. She stared at her friend, Sunao, hoping he would tell her otherwise. Tell her that Aizawa is just lying.

"You're the one who is responsible for his death," Sunao snapped. "but…I'm the one who pulled the trigger. He's right, Rin." He away from Rin. He was too ashamed. "I'm so sorry, Rin…I'm sorry."

Rin lowered her head, began sobbing. She felt so betrayed. One of her closest friends turned out to be her brother's killer. It is a small world. Who would've guessed? She didn't. "Sunao," she sobbed, "How could you?"

"You see, Rin," Aizawa said, walking toward her again. "Didn't I tell you those so many years ago? At some point, everyone that promised you happiness would leave your life. You have no one else. All because of Sunao Fujimori. He isn't your friend. He isn't the person you thought he was. Do you feel it, Rin? The rage sinking to very core. Allow that rage to sink. Let it guide you. Become that rage."

Rin shook her head rapidly, "Shut up," she screamed, feeling Aizawa's words take over. She knows what's he up to, and she isn't going to let him control her. Not now. Not after everything she has worked for. But what is the point?

It suddenly came to her. Apparently, she isn't ever going to escape the past. It's always going to haunt, always follow her everywhere she goes. What is the point of fighting it?

"Rin…" Sunao called out in a soft voice.

"I…I hate you, Sunao Fujimori," she shuttered. "I will never forgive for this."

"That's right, Rin," Aizawa cooed. He went behind he back, untying her. "Let yourself embrace that hate." He freed her from the bondage, but she didn't move. She let her arms fall, still behind her back. Her head was still down, and she never made a sound. You couldn't even hear her breathe. It was like she was lost in her own world and locked up in there.

Aizawa lifted the girl up until she stood on her own, her knees against the other. She wrapped her own arms around her torso. Aizawa's hands were on her shoulders, like he was trying to comfort her, when he was really trying to allow her to give in. It was working. "I'm going to give you an opportunity of a lifetime, Rin," he whispered, but it was loud enough for everyone to hear.

He lifted up her arm and placed a gun in her hand. Rin had no reaction to it when she saw it. She still acting like this lifeless puppet, controlled by Aizawa. "You have a choice, just like Fujimori did. You can end your pain by ending it all or you can honor your brother's death and destroy the one who killed him." Without saying another word, she raised up, pointing it to Sunao. Aizawa took a few steps back, getting a better view of his creation. Sunao looked down. He felt as if she had the rights to do this, and doesn't deserve to live any longer. Sora began squirming around, trying his best to get free. "RIN," Sora shouted to her, "PLEASE NO!"

"Why shouldn't I," Rin said, her eyes moved to Sora's direction. "He took everything away from me! He destroyed the last thing I had in life!"

"You don't have to do this," Sora said, "Do you think this is what Mira wanted?"

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY THAT," she hollered. "This is my chance to prove to Mira that I'm sorry for causing his death. He didn't deserve to die!" Sora bowed his head, realizing that Rin wasn't going to stop.

"In that case," he said, "please do something for me then." She waited to hear what Sora's request was. "Please…kill me first." Sunao turned to him. "NO," Sunao protested, "Hashiba, don't say such things!"

"I'm not going to just watch you die. Not if I can save you, not if I can give just a few more seconds to you. Besides, I can't live without you, and I refuse to."

"Hashiba…," Sunao said.

"Please, Rin," Sora sobbed, "I don't want to live in a world without him." Rin nodded. "I understand," she said, moving the gun now to Sora. Sunao began to freak out, "Hashiba! No!" Sunao struggled where he was sitting. He wanted to run over there and shield Sora away from the bullet, when he is the one who is suppose to die. "Nao…" Sora whispered, but it was loud enough for Sunao to hear, "I love you." Tears began to stream down both their faces. Sora smiled to himself, his eyes were closed, and just waited.

"Sayonara, Sora-kun," Rin whisper, just about to pull the trigger.

"HASHIBA!"

_**BANG**_

Sunao looked away as she fired the gun. After that, it was quiet…so quiet. Sunao didn't have it in him to see his now deceased lover. He couldn't believe what just happened. He couldn't believe that Sunao actually let this happen. Sora Hashiba was now dead.

He turned his head back to Rin's direction.

"Hashiba," Sunao called out joyously. Sora was still sitting in same position as before. No blood, no wound, no anything. It was like nothing happened. Sora looked up to Sunao, looking really confused, not sure what is going on. He thought he was suppose to be dead now. "Fujimori," he said. So what just happened.

Both of them looked up to Rin. The gun wasn't pointing to Sora. So what did she shoot? "And that's for thinking I would actually kill my friends," she shouted, catching Sunao's and Sora's attention. They looked now to Aizawa.

Aizawa was hunched over, holding onto his torso, and covered in own blood. All them stared at Rin, so shocked. Rin turned to her friends. She dropped the gun, walked over to Sunao, and began to untie him. "Rin…" he said, still shocked about what just happened. When he was free, she walked to Sora and untied him as well. Sunao stood up, watching her.

"What have you done," Aizawa hissed.

Rin smirked. "I did exactly what Mira would want me to," she said. "Just as I was standing there, about to kill Sora, I felt something and then I remembered."

/Flashback/

_The nurse knocked on the door. "Visiting hours are over," she said, "we have to reserve this room for another family coming in." Rin's eyes popped open. "Wait! No," she said, she still didn't understand. Mira hugged onto Rin. He kissed her cheek and whispered into her ear "Promise me one thing…" she looked up to him, her way of saying that she was listening. "Promise me that no matter what happened in the past, that it will not stop you from having a bright and happy future." She stared. What was going on? Is she drugged up? Does she really have the heart to leave her brother here? However, she always trusted in his word. Mira never lied to her and never let her down. This was no different. She had to trust in Mira again. She smiled. "I promise," she said, giving her 'sister' one last hug before she left. "Thank you," she said._

/End Flashback/

"Mira made me promise that nothing would hold me back. That nothing in the past would stop me from living. And I intend on keeping that promise…in honor of my brother." She smiled to Sunao. "He would never want me to hold a grudge over someone. And also…as I held that gun, I felt the same thing you did, Sunao. I don't think you chose to kill my brother but you were under Aizawa's influence. I don't blame you. And also, I forgive you. Because…that's what Mira would've wanted."

"Rin…," Sunao said, feeling tears forming in the corner of his eyes.

"You're a good person, Sunao. I learned that as we spent time together. I know you wouldn't have intentionally wanted to kill Mira. I'm not going to let that break our friendship. It clicked to me…when you were talking to me about admitting your secret to Sora-kun, I could see it in your eyes that you weren't glad you did it…I figured that was the secret you had just now. You're not a murderer, nor do I believe it was your fault. So stop letting it eat you up. Okay?"

Aizawa chuckled, "How sweet," he said, "So you chose happiness over revenge." Everyone turned to him and everyone's eyes widened. Aizawa now held the gun in his hand and raised in the direction of the teens, more to Sunao than anyone else. He looked like Aizawa just snapped. There was no way that his plan didn't work. He refuses to let it end this. He has to earse everything. He pointed the gun in the direction of Sunao.

_**BANG**_

"Sunao, look out," both of the teen cried out. Rin was the closest to Sunao and she decided to protect her friend. She pushed Sunao down, but in the end, she got shot. "Rin," Sunao gasped, catching her before she hit the ground. Rin was quiet. "Rin! RIN" Sunao screamed to her, shaking her, trying to wake her up. "Wake up!" But there was no answer, and as time passed, she was losing a lot blood.

* * *

**Rosie: Nooooo! **

**Me: Like I said before, you knew this was going to happen.**

**Rosie: *cries* Still…**

**Me: *hugs* Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for Chapter 9.**


	9. Sayonara

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Sukisyo or any of the characters in the following story …except for the very few that will be mentioning in this chapter and the ones yet to come, but you will find out about that later.**

**Rosie: But this is the last chapter. Who could be introduced now?**

**Me: …no one is new. I just didn't feel like making another disclaimer.**

**Rosie: …**

**Me: Hey. At least I was nice to you by not adding the smiley.**

**Rosie: …true that.**

**Chapter 9**

**Sayonara**

She stirred. After a while of blacking out, she suddenly felt awake. She could tell that she wasn't in the warehouse anymore. She felt like she was lying in a soft mattress, covered by a warm blanket. So was she just dreaming? Was everything that happen just a dream?

She opened her eyes. The first thing she saw an extremely bright light that irritated her eyes, so she shut them quickly. Once her eyes adapted to the brightness, she could see someone sitting beside her. She couldn't really tell who it was; her vision was still blurry. "Well hello there," the person said. She could tell who it was by the sound of the voice. "N…Nanami-sama?" When she said it, her sight was improving. She was right.

He offered her a friendly smile. "How are you feeling," he asked her.

"Really…really…really dizzy," she said, caressing the side of her head. "Where am I?"

"At the school's nursing office," he answered. "You lost a lot of blood and we had to remove the bullet from your shoulder. So just try to stay still."

"A…bullet?"

"Yeah, lucky for you, Hashiba and Sunao brought you here just in time." Nanami's head turned in the direction toward the foot of the bed. Rin's eyes followed his and there he found all her friends there. "Hey, Rin," Sora greeted her with a friendly smile, "Sleep well?"

"What…what happened?"

"You were shot," Sunao explained, "He was about to shoot me as well when he collapsed from blood loss. Sora went to go check his pulse and we discovered that Aizawa, this time, is really dead. We then carried you out of there, called Nanami, and he performed surgery on you." Rin's eyes popped open. She lifted her blanket and found out that she wasn't wearing her pajamas anymore, but a hospital gown. She was exposed in front of everyone.

"Don't worry," Nanami said, Rin turned to him, "I made everyone leave when I changed you."

Rin looked down. "But you all know now," she said. She felt so ashamed for lying to her friends, especially Matsuri. "We still love you, Mir…I mean Rin," Matsuri said. She blushed when Matsuri said 'love.' Sunao giggled.

"Thanks Mat…" she said as she lifted herself up, but stopped when she felt a pain against her shoulder blade. She cried out in pain and Nanami pushed her back down. "Stay still," he told her. "Why does it still hurt," she whined.

"You broke you shoulder blade," Shinichiro explained, "It's going to hurt for a while."

"I see," she said.

"Rin," Sunao said, breaking the awkward silence. "I just wanted to say thank you for saving my life." Rin nodded her head. "That's what friends do for each other, right?"

Sunao nodded his head. "That's right."

* * *

_The following weekend_

Rin stood at a train station. She was wearing a yellow sundress with a blue sweater over it. Her friends were waiting with her as well. Everyone-Sunao, Sora, Matsuri, Shinichiro, and Nanami-was getting their chance to say goodbye to their only female friend. When they were giving each other their hugs goodbye, the train was boarding.

"Where are you going to go," Sunao asked.

"I have a grandmother a few towns away," she explained, "I spoke with her on the phone and she was happy to hear that her granddaughter was still alive, and she asked me to come stay with her. This way, I can hide away from anyone else that was working with Aizawa."

"What about school," Sora asked.

"I'm not going to be Mira Tanaka, anymore. And like you said…it's a boys' academy.

"So you're going to start calling yourself Rin Tanaka," Shinichiro questioned.

"Sort of…I'm going to keep my first name, Rin. However, to hide myself, I decide to start call myself Rin Suzuki. Grandma says that I'll be known as her care taker around everyone else. It's kind of weird but I can start off fresh. Just like Mira wanted me to do."

"All aboard," the man said. Rin and them rushed to train, but managed to say their final goodbyes.

She gave Sora a hug first, "Sora-kun," she said, "Thank you for helping me in my time of need. You really are a good friend."

"See ya," he said. Next to him were Shinichiro and Nanami. "Thank you two for your hospitality. You two made me feel very welcomed." Both of them offered her a friendly smile. Next was Sunao. She gave Sunao into a warm embrace. "Sunao…I'm going to miss you a lot."

He returned the hug. "Same here," he said. She pulled back the hug. "Sunao. I need you to make me a promise." She held Sunao's hands together and looked into those big pink eyes of his seriously. "What is it?"

"Sunao," she started, "I know you are still a little upset about the past, like it's holding you back. Thus…I want you to promise me that you're not going to let anything in the past stop you from having a bright and happy future. Promise me a least that, Sunao."

Sunao stared at her, amazed to what she just said. He knew that that was the same promise she made to Mira. So this promise really meant a lot to her. He nodded. "Thank you, Rin. I promise."

She lifted up her pinky. "Pinky swear me so that I know you mean it," she said, slightly joking, slightly not. Sunao laughed inwardly and held up his pinky as well. They latched their pinkies together, sealing the promise. She gave him one last hug, before saying good-bye to the last one, Matsuri.

She looked down. "I'm sorry about the unconvinced, and hope we can still be friends."

"Of course, Rin," he said, "but…there's something I gotta let you know." She tilted her head, looking up at him with a confused expression on her face. Without any hesitation, he pulled into a loving embrace. She began to blush again, as she usually does around him. Everyone else smiled; glad to see that they were finally free to express their feelings. Matsuri pulled back a little and bent down to kiss her on the cheek. She then became as red as a cherry. He whispered in her ear, "Let me know when you're in town again." She felt like her head was spinning and couldn't believe this was happening. "M-Matsuri-chan," she stuttered. He gave her a little wink.

_Whoooot. Whoooot. ((A/N: That was my train whistle noise lol.)_

The train began to move slowly. Rin and everyone raced after the train. She was able to take a hold of one of the bars and swing into the train. All of the others stopped and began to wave goodbye, watching her slowly exit the station and began her journey as Rin Suzuki.

"Do you think we'll ever see her again," Sora thought outloud.

"I believe so," Nanami answered. "If not we're going to make a few trips."

"Yeah," Matsuri agreed.

"Well," Shinichiro sighed, "We better be on our way." Everyone began to walk away. Sora stopped in his tracks, seeing that Sunao didn't move. He walked up to him and held him around his torso. "Everything alright, Fujimori?" Sunao smiled.

"It is now," he said, "After all, I made a promise, and intend on keeping that promise." Sora smiled and kissed Sunao on the top of his head. "I'm glad to hear that," he said, taking a hold of his hand. "Come on, everyone is waiting for us."

* * *

_One year later_

It was about time for summer vacation. Rin Suzuki was walking home with her new friends from class. They separated at a four way intersection and she started walking home alone. She didn't go directly home, never did. She wanted to make a few stops.

She went by the local cemetery and walked by a few rows of graves until she found the tombstone she was looking for. She knelt in front of the tombstone. It was a regular old tombstone, made of shiny marble, with the engraved words 'Rin Tanaka. Born: September 8th, 1993. Died: December 15th 2009. "Hey Mira," she said as if she were talking to anyone else, "I told you that I'd be back. Anyways, not much has happened from my end. School went by smoothly, Grandma's as healthy as a horse, and I now I'm planning on looking for a part-time job-nothing new really going on. However, I'm sort of getting use to that, the whole no-adventure thing. Well sorry for cutting things short, but I gotta get going. Grandma is making her soup and I have to make sure she don't burn the house down." She bent over and kissed the top of the tombstone. "Goodbye for now Oni-chan. I love you."

She returned home minutes later, feeling complete exhausted. When she walked into the cottage, she flopped herself on the couch in the living room. "What a day," she sighed. Her grandmother was over in the next room. "Anything in the mail," he grandmother called out from the kitchen. Rin stood up and walked back toward the main entrance, "Sorry, Grandma, I forgot. I'll go get it," she said, running out the door to the mailbox.

Junk mail, coupons, and a few letters-that's all she found in there. Rin walked into the kitchen and place them on the island, next to her grandmother, who was busy making a big pot of stew. "Anything," she asked her granddaughter. Rin was shuffling through the letters. "A bank notice," she read outloud, "A letter from the 'Do-It-All team, a letter from your insurance company…wait what?" She stopped reading and returned her attention from the 'Do-It-All' team.

"It's from the guys," she said happily.

"What does it say," her grandmother asked. Rin opened the envelope and pulled out the small piece of paper, about the size of a sticky note. "That's weird," she thought outloud; "It says to go open your front door." Her grandmother looked up at her baffled-like. "Really," she says, "Well don't leave your friends in suspense, go open it." Rin looked back to her grandmother with a puzzled look.

"Do you know something about this," she asked. Her grandmother stopped cooking and began to push Rin toward the door. "Stop delaying and go see," she answered. Rin gave up. "OK. OK," she giggled, now walking on her own as her grandmother returned to the kitchen.

She did as the little note said and opened her front door. Nothing was there. She popped her head out the door, looking from side to side. Nothing seemed to be there. She sighed. She was hoping that her friends were going to be there, but was wrong.

She returned back into the kitchen, not looking up. "What's wrong, Rin," her grandma asked. "Nothing was there," she answered. Her grandmother chuckled. "I know, they showed up not too terribly long ago after school was out and I couldn't keep them waiting in the heat, so I directed them to your room," she explained.

"What," she asked, almost hard to believe in what she was hearing. Her grandmother smiled. "Don't keep our guests waiting," she said. She ran upstairs and ran in the first door to the right. Sure enough, they were in her room. Her mouth dropped, so amazed to see them. All of the boys looked to Rin, looking like a new person.

She wasn't wearing boy's clothes anymore, but clothes that shaped her nicely. She wore skirts instead of slacks. Her hair grew out, too. It was as long as her shoulders were, thick enough to wear a headband.

Matsuri was the first to give their long-time friend a hug. "It's really you," she said, returning the hug. "When did you get here?"

"About twenty minutes ago," Sora said, shrugging his shoulders.

"We didn't want to wait until tomorrow to see you so Minato Sensei allowed us an early day," Sunao said.

They had a fun visit. Each one of them were catching up from lost times, sharing silly stories that happened until Rin's grandmother called for dinner. Sora fell in love with someone else's cooking, which brought back fond memories.

From that point on, they would take turns every so often traveling to see each other that summer. Distance could separate the four, nothing ever did. Everything ended happily ever after.

_The End_

* * *

**Me: Well, that's all folks. I hope you liked it.**

**Rosie: Hmp.**

**Me: What?**

**Rosie: What about Matsuri and Rin? You didn't say if they fell in love.**

**Me: I said happily ever after. The readers can fill in the holes. You know? Let their imaginations wonder what happens.**

**Rosie:…. Ok then.**


End file.
